Piume Dentellare
by mihawklover
Summary: Betrayal is the ultimate hurt, Charity witnesses this first hand. No one ever would have figured that it would be Donquixote Doflamingo who wiped away the tears.  Doflamingo X OC
1. 1: Lost Overboard

A/N: I couldn't resist writing a back story for these two, they are such a good pair, and I fell in love with them when I created their relationship for Pirate Love, so I hope that you enjoy it!!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

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Charity stared at the large ship that was docked in the harbour. She had known that her step father, Cain, was friends with the Marines, but she hadn't realised the extent of his influence. Shaking her head slightly, she bent to pick up a small fishing bag at her feet, the movement causing the too loose bracelet on her wrist to drop to the ground. Cursing softly she quickly strapped it back onto her wrist her heart beating fast at the realisation that she had nearly lost her mother's treasured bracelet.

The bracelet had been given to her mother as an engagement present by Charity's father when the two of them had first been betrothed to be married. It was the only item that her mother had to remind her of the man that had sired her first daughter. Charity believed that although her mother re-married Cain, and had another child, Felicity, she had never actually stopped loving her first husband. If she had have, she would have discarded the bracelet and donned the new one that Cain had bought for her.

The small trinket was now all that Charity had left of both her mother and her father. Her mother had passed away only two weeks previous, but it felt to her as if she had been gone for years. It was the loneliness that really got to her. When her mother had been alive, the two of them would talk for hours on end. Charity didn't have anything in common with her step sister or step father and so she didn't talk to them. It had made her angry when Cain had taken over the whole house, acting as though he had every right. She was lucky that she even had her mother's precious piece of jewellery, if Cain found out, he would take it from her and then she would have nothing.

The night that she had received the bracelet was still fresh in Charity's mind, and she often found herself re-living that moment in her dreams at night. She had been sitting at her mother's bedside, watching as the terrible disease that she had, attacked and rendered her body everything but useless with each slow passing day. Her mother had given her a sad smile and explained to her that she would have to be the strong one, since her step father would not see Charity as an heir. She had told Charity to leave the island as she handed her the bracelet that she never took off her wrist, she made Charity promise that she would follow her dream and set off just like her father. As her mother lost the light from her eyes, Charity held her and rocked her until the morning when she was cold and stiff within her arms. Letting go had been the hardest thing for Charity to do.

Now she stared up at the large ship that symbolised her freedom, and her promise to her mother. Cain had said he would take her to the next island so that she could start her life afresh and see the world. Since Cain had been a top ranking member of the Marines in his younger days, he had thorough knowledge of the seas around him, and would be able to deliver her safely to her next destination, where she would let go of the bonds that held her to her home town. Feeling her heart start to race with excitement, Charity climbed up the rope ladder to examine the ship more closely. She couldn't help but be impressed as she ran her hands along the finely gold and white painted walls and doors of the ship. The ship had three rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, it was definitely more than what Charity had expected it to be, and she couldn't help but to praise her step father.

Even though they never got along, she was willing to forgive him and become friends. She knew that she would never have her mother's fortune while he was alive, but she didn't really care. He was being nice enough to help her in her time of need, that she was happy to overlook his flaws and focus only on his traits. He was after all the only one in her entire town that could navigate the seas, as well as get a boat to sail them. She was grateful for the help that he was giving her, and she would not complain ever, though she would be glad when she was away from him.

Charity wondered for a moment what would happen to her half sister, but deep down she already knew and her heart went out to the young girl. Even though the two of them had never really spoken, she would never wish the life of Felicity on anyone. Charity had no doubt that as soon as she was gone, Felicity would be married off to the highest bidder, so that there was no way that Charity could ever claim her rightful inheritance.

"Are you just going to sit there staring all day or are you going to help me pull the anchor up?" Cain demanded, jolting Charity from her silent thought processes. "I need you to pull it up so that we can leave. The sooner that we pull out, the sooner that we can arrive home."

Charity nodded and ran to do as she was told, she could not agree more with her step father, which was a first in the history that they had known each other. They had always disagreed in everything, even the meal that would be eaten for dinner. He had hated her from the start, just as he had hated her father. Sometimes she wondered if he married her mother so that he could get back at her father, but that could not be the case since he had treated her mother very well when she had been alive.

Shaking away her stray thoughts, Charity heaved the anchor and pulled it to the deck, sweating slightly at the effort it had taken to lift it out of the water. She had not thought that it would be so heavy, she began to appreciate just how strong sailors actually were. The way they removed the anchor from the ocean made it seem as though it weighed no more than a feather.

"What's taking you so long girl?" Cain bellowed from the other side of the ship. "Have you got it out of the water yet? How hard is it to do a simple little task such as that?"

Charity rolled her eyes and stopped listening to her step father's onslaught of words. It didn't worry her that he was going off his head, she had grown up with it and had learnt to block it out and go about whatever it was she was doing when he started in on her. Nothing could dampen her spirits now anyway, she was too happy to let his stupid words get to her.

Skipping happily to the other side of the deck, Charity stared out at the vast distance of the ocean around her. It overwhelmed her how big the sea actually was, when she had seen it from the dock, it had somehow looked a lot smaller. She giggled at her strange thoughts letting her eyes travel to the sky. To her chagrin the sky was black with thick and speedily forming clouds. From what she could see there was going to be a large and unforgiving storm. For a moment Charity had second thoughts about continuing on their voyage.

"Cain there's a storm coming this way, it looks nasty maybe we should forget about going today and go tomorrow instead." Charity called as the wind around the ship picked up and pushed it forward. "It looks a bit dangerous to go out in!"

"We can't turn around now!" Cain yelled back, giving her an evil look. "You will just have to get over it and face the danger instead of being a coward."

Charity gritted her teeth and settled for watching the incoming storm instead of retorting to his hurtful comment. It wasn't that she was scared of being washed overboard, she would be able to handle that, she was a good swimmer and could go against even the strongest of currents. Growing up with a pirate as a father had done that.

She still remembered how he had come home every six months and took her swimming in the sea. He had taught her how to go against the currents without straining herself if she was stranded. She used to joke and pretend that he had merman blood in him, he was such a good swimmer, when he was in the water he looked as though he was in his element. Once her mother had started to date Cain his visits had become more scare each year until he stopped coming at all. He never said goodbye to her mother, but he had come into her room when she had supposed to be asleep and kissed her goodbye on the forehead, wishing her all the best of luck in her life.

"Charity the storm is getting a lot stronger!" Felicity cried as she lost her balance and was flung into Charity. "Father said that you needed to climb up and try to steady the rigging otherwise we are going to get into a lot of trouble fast."

"The rigging, what am I supposed to do up there?" Charity questioned as she stared up at the mast. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. "I don't even know what the rigging is."

"Just take a stab in the dark." Felicity suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "I think that it is those ropes over there, they are flapping really wildly."

Nodding Charity took a deep breath and climbed up to where the ropes Felicity had pointed to were. It was true that they were flying around in the harsh winds, making the sails start to unfurl. Charity knew that they wouldn't stand a chance if the sails unfurled, they would be pushed by the wind and become out of control. Quickly she tied them in a secure knot and stood back to admire her handiwork.

She was sure that the rigging or whatever it was that she had tied, would hold so before she fell from the wild rocking of the ship, she jumped back down onto the ground. She felt her heart jolt as a wave crashed over the side rail of the ship, drenching her in ice cold water. The water was so cold that she instantly became numb from head to toe. Ignoring the pain of the cold on her fingers, Charity scanned the deck for Felicity. Even though she didn't have much to do with her half sister, she still didn't want anything to happen to her. She may have been Cain's daughter, but to Charity's reasoning she was her mother's daughter as well.

"Felicity, are you okay, where are you?" Charity called out when she could see her no where. She just hoped that the younger girl had not been washed over board. "Please call out to me, where are you?"

"Over here, I hurt my leg, I can't move it!" Felicity answered, sending a jolt of relief flying through Charity's veins as she ran over to help her sister from the predicament she had been turfed into.

Felicity had never done a hard days work in her whole entire life, and she had no strength what so ever. Every time the ship rocked, she would go sprawling clumsily across the deck with the movement. Suddenly a thought struck Charity and she knew how she could ensure that Felicity stayed on the boat and wasn't drowned by falling overboard.

"Come with me Felicity, I have an idea that will keep you safe so that you don't fall over the side and drown." Charity smiled at the other girl and grabbed her arm, while supporting her weight so that she didn't put any presure on the wound she had received when she fell. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks Charity." Felicity said in barely a whisper, as Charity grabbed a length of rope.

She then tied Felicity to the mast with the rope so that she would not be able to loose her balance. She would not be any help to Charity and Cain anyhow, so Charity was confident that she was doing the right thing. She smiled at Felicity and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.

"I know this doesn't make any sense, but if you are tied here then nothing bad can happen, I am very certain that you will be safe." Charity was surprised with the confidence that she could hear in her voice, it was an emotion that she was far off feeling. "Everything will be alright, you'll see, we'll get out of here and arrive safely at the next island no problems."

Felicity smiled and was about to reply when the two of them were drenched once again by a large wave. Charity could have sworn that the waves were becoming more violent, as she lost her footing and nearly slid down the deck. She re-balanced herself, and looked around for something that she could do. She could find nothing as she scanned the area of the ship, Cain seemed to have everything under control.

"Charity, aren't you going to tie yourself to here too?" Felicity asked anxiously. "Father will be able to man the ship alone, he is a lot stronger and has a lot more balance than what we do."

"I guess you're right." Charity sighed as she saw the reasoning behind Felicity's words. "I just have to go and find a rope first, and then I will be back here to tie myself to the mast with you. The storm will pass soon, so we won't be there for all that long."

Felicity nodded, and Charity left her to find a strong rope so that she could tie herself to the mast as she had promised Felicity. After five minutes of frantic searching she found a solid rope, though she could hardly pick it up in her numb fingers. With a feeling of dread Charity strode purposefully to the mast. She was just about in touching distance from it when she was drenched by another wave which was even more harsh then the last. Shaking the water from her head she took a step forward only to lose her balance and slip to the rail.

She desperately clutched at the rail, but her fingers were so numb that they started to slip. Hastily she reached to grab the rope so that she could tie herself to the railing, only to find that it had dropped into the sea. Panic seeped through her skin as she called out for Cain's help at the top of her lungs. When he didn't answer she guessed that he could not hear her and was still on board. As she struggled to pull herself back over the rail, a shadow fell over her, and she felt her heart fly to her mouth.

"Cain!" Charity called out in delight. She had never been so happy to see him in all of her life. "Please take my hand!"

Cain smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her only a small way up so that he could place his mouth near her ear so that she could hear his whisper. "My daughter is the only one that deserves the wealth that your mother left behind. You are the product of a filthy pirate and are destined to follow in his footsteps."

Charity's eyes widened in shock as the full impact of his words hit her. She gasped and grabbed his arm with her other hand. A satisfied and smug smirk made its way to his lips as he watched her struggled to survive, trying to climb up his arm.

"My father was a good man, and just because he was a pirate it does not mean that I will be!" Charity screamed. She could think of no way other than begging to get her out of her current situation, but she could not bring herself to do it. "My mother would be ashamed to know what you are doing. Felicity can have the stupid money, I don't want it. I just want to start my life afresh."

"I can't trust your word, you have never liked me, and I know that you will do anything in your power to anger me anyway possible." Cain smiled. "If I do this then there is no way for you to destroy what I have worked so hard to gain. Think of it this way, you will be starting you life afresh, you will just be dead because there is no way that you will ever survive this."

"Did you not love my mother? She gave you everything, and never asked for anything in return, and this is how you repay her?" Charity growled.

"I loved your mother very much, just like I love our daughter very much." Cain smiled, as a demonic gleam crept into his eyes. "But I am happy to say that I never loved you, goodbye Charity say hello to your mother for me."

Charity lunged upwards trying to grab hold of the monster that was her life line. He just laughed and she fell downwards into the feral torrents of the raging sea. Thrashing from side to side beneath the water, she lost all sense of up or down. The torrents beneath the water were too strong for even her to fight, and she felt herself running out of oxygen.

Closing her eyes, she let herself sink further below the surface, content to die in the sea. Her life would have been boring anyway, and she had lost everything and everyone that had ever meant something to her. As she stilled her body, her mother's image glued itself in her mind. It was the face that Charity had often seen when she was a young girl and her mother was scolding her for getting into trouble. She could almost hear her mother's scolding words.

Suddenly Charity's eyes snapped open, she knew that she could not give up so soon, she had too much to achieve and a promise to fulfill. Looking upwards, Charity kicked her legs as hard as she could and finally broke the surface. Heaving in mouthfuls of air, she looked around her. The storm had pushed her away, and she had re-surfaced in a calm stretch of sea. The ship was no where to be seen. Pursing her lips, Charity stared around her, she was not going to just give up and let him win.

After waiting for a few minutes, and not finding anything to help her, she started swimming in the direction where she assumed there would be an island. It would be a long swim to shore but she could safely say that she would not give in.


	2. 2: Lost and Found

A/N: Yes, second chapter is finally up and I must say that I am having a lot of fun with this one!! Doflamingo finally came in and played a part in the actual story! There will be more of him in the next chapters to come as well, so I hope that you enjoy the story, and please remember to review!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

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Charity spluttered and struggled to stay above the water. Her limbs were starting to ache from fighting the sea for the whole night. She had been out in the middle of nowhere for what seemed like days and she still hadn't been able to find any sign of land. No boats had sailed passed either, and she was beginning to wonder if she would ever survive the trouble that she had gotten herself into. She cursed herself softly at her own foolishness, she couldn't believe that she had trusted Cain. She had really believed that after her mother's death he had changed, she had thought that he would treat her differently because she was his dead wife's daughter.

Shaking her head she pushed her depressing thoughts away, if she kept thinking about how she could have changed the past, then she would never be able to move forward. Her mother had warned her that she had no life at her childhood home. She had told Charity to take some money and take the first boat out of the island. She had brushed her mother's warnings off fooling herself by saying that it was the disease taking hold of her brain. It was only when she was alone in the world that she had paid any attention to the warnings that she had received, and then it was too late to do anything about. Now all as she could do was think only on surviving the ordeal that she was suffering because of her past mistakes.

"I can do this! If I give up now, then I will never be able to gloat about it!" Charity whispered to herself in a personal pep talk. "I can not disappoint her, she would not want me to give up!"

With renewed strength Charity plowed forward, not once stopping to check her destination. She knew that she would see only water around her, and the only thought that gave her hope and kept her going was the fact that she would eventually come to an island, then she would be able to rest and worry about other things. Suddenly the water around her became rougher and she found herself pushed beneath the surface.

When she got her head out of the water once again, she looked into the sky, thinking that maybe a storm had come back over. To her surprise it was not black and forbidding clouds that filled her vision, instead it was a large ship that donned a pirate flag. Charity almost had second thoughts about shouting out to them, but her body was so exhausted that she knew if she didn't take the opportunity she was offered, then she would surely drown.

"Hey! Woman overboard!" Charity bellowed into the silence of the sea. She felt rather stupid for saying such a simple sentence but she didn't know what else to say to get their attention. "Please, I need some help!"

To her pleasure the ship stopped its forward motion and a couple of heads looked over the side rail at her. They made no move to let down a rope ladder so that she could board, so she guessed that they were waiting for their Captain's okay. She could only hope that the Captain of the pirate ship was weak and not one of the inhumanly strong men or women that were found on the grand line. She felt a shiver crawl up her spine when she thought of the possible people it could be, only the strong came to her mind and she had to mentally still the fast pace of her heart. How hard would it be for her to escape from a ship of stupid pirates? Her father was one of the strongest on the sea, and he had taught her how to fight, and to fight well. It could even be her father who Captained the large ship beside her.

Cheering slightly at her thought process, she patiently waited for someone to answer her cry for help. It did not take long for another man to walk to the side of the ship and peer down at her. He chuckled as he saw her frantic attempt to tread water and not fall beneath its icy surface where only death waited. He stood for a long time staring down at her, before he spoke. His voice was deep and commanding, and it made her skin crawl in delight; she could listen to him forever it was soothing to listen to.

"What are you doing down there girl?" The pirate Captain grinned and then chuckled again making her want to scream in outrage. He wasn't going to let her come aboard the ship anytime soon; he would play her and enjoy every minute of it. "Did your lover tire of you and throw you overboard? Did he find another couple of sluts to fill his bed?"

"I wish it was that simple, but its not." Charity fumed keeping her voice light and joking. It would not do to upset her potential saviour, so for now she would play along with his little game. "I fell overboard in the storm and I can't seem to find any dry land, you're the only people that have sailed passed since I have been in the water, and I have been swimming for a long time."

"Well there's a reason that people don't come to this neck of the woods. You're a brave girl to be swimming out here, not a lot of people would do that." The man told her matter of factly, chuckling once again. "Bring her up and give her some dry clothes men!"

Charity grinned to herself in victory as the Captain's men dropped down a sturdy rope ladder that she could climb up to board the ship. Her legs gave way a few times as she climbed to the top, but she ignored the pain that wracked her body. She had not noticed how exhausted her body was when she was in the water, it was only when she started to climb that she felt it roll through her body. Gasping she let herself drop over the side of the ship, she lay for a while panting and waiting for her breath to steady.

"Now would you like to tell me why not many people dare to swim in these parts of the sea?" Charity demanded looking up at the man. She soon found that this was a big mistake, his face was unmistakeable and she knew exactly who he was.

Out of all the people who could have found her it had to be the one and only Donquixote Doflamingo. He was one of the meanest and strongest pirates on all the seas. She felt her heart stop as her gaze roamed over his impressive figure, and to her chagrin it wasn't from fear that her mouth dried. Sadly he was one of the most attractive men that she had ever laid eyes on, and he just happened to be an extremely strong pirate captain. Quickly she averted her eyes to his face, only to see the small smirk on his lips.

"Stare long enough? You should be careful, I may get ideas." Doflamingo chuckled at the look on her face and sat on the rail. "Do you really want to know the reason that most people do not swim here?"

Charity nodded and walked over to him when he waved a hand signalling her to stand next to him. He then ordered one of his men to grab a slice of meat from the fridge. Grinning he dropped it into the sea, where it sunk beneath the surface. She watched for a while puzzled at the point he was trying to make, and then to her horror, the sea started to churn. A huge shadow became apparent as something rose to the surface, before it broke lose and sent a waterfall spraying all over the ship.

Charity cried out and clutched at Doflamingo out of reflex as the sea beast raised its mighty head. The grin on Doflamingo's face was so large that had she known him better, she would have said that he was enjoying himself. He probably was enjoying himself she thought bitterly as the monster stared at the ship. A shiver ran through her body and unconsciously she clutched at Doflamingo's pink feather coat slightly tighter.

Suddenly and without warning, Doflamingo grabbed Charity by the shoulders and pushed her so she was hanging slightly over the rail. She clenched her teeth together so that she did not scream in terror, she knew that was the reaction that he was trying to provoke as she stared into the eyes of the sea monster upside down. As he pushed her down even more, she clutched at the pink feather coat, making her knuckles go white from the vice like grip she had upon him, she had not survived for as long as she had, just to be killed after all her efforts. Slowly her fingers started to unravel themselves from him on their own accord, and no matter how hard she tried to grab hold of him again, she could not take control of her fingers.

Fear gripped her as she remembered the rumours about his power, it was said that he could take control of your body, and once he did, you had no chance of escaping him. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she tried to fight his hold over her, this caused him to chuckle and lean over her so that his mouth was near her ear.

"I could feed you to that big fish over there because of the way that you touched me." Doflamingo grinned like a wicked little schoolboy, pulling her up slightly. "But you have fire, and I like that. It is quite amusing to watch."

Charity brought her leg back to kick him, though it stopped mid way and twined itself around his waist, the other soon followed so that she was forced to straddle him in an extremely uncomfortable position. She found herself fighting to hold back a groan of pleasure when he slid his lips along her neck so lightly that they barely even touched, though they made the heat rise in her body. It was then that she realised how dangerous he actually was, and that she would have to be on her guard constantly while she was around him. He could evoke feelings in her that none of her lovers ever could, and he wasn't even trying; he would be a dangerous man for her to cross.

"See? I know what girls like you want. A nice warm bed to sleep in, and a man with a lot of money to give away. I've seen your type before." Doflamingo whispered huskily and she couldn't help but wonder if he was enjoying the feeling of her wrapped around him. "There is always a place on my crew for girls like you, but don't for a second think that you will share my bed."

"What makes you think that I even want to be in your bed?" Charity scorned screwing her nose up in disgust. "You are the last man on this planet that I would ever consider sleeping with. You are arrogant and loathsome, the kind of man that I aim to avoid every step of my life."

"Then why are you being so forthcoming?" Doflamingo asked glancing down at her legs that were wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling them close together. "You are all over me, I have not done a thing to you."

"You lier!" She screamed as she tried to slap him in the face. Her hand was stilled and pulled to her side, and all as he had done was wiggle his fingers. She shook her shoulders struggling to escape his grip, so that she could attack him on firmer ground. Anticipating her every move, he dropped her from his hold. "You are just a horny little man who can't get a rompe in the sack without using his power!"

Doflamingo giggled and threaded his fingers through her long pink locks. "You can't even truthfully say that you weren't enjoying it. If we had have been alone, then you would have had your tongue down my throat faster than I could even blink."

"You jerk, I wouldn't have done anything to you by my own free will, you would have made me, so I wouldn't have had a choice!" She near spat. As she continued on her rampage, she suddenly became aware that she was next to naked in her worn and sea salt stiff dress. No wonder he thought that she was trying to seduce him, with the way her dress was at that moment, she looked like a slut. She didn't let that phase her however, she had to teach him some manners and get some respect. "You think that because you have a little power that lets you control people, you can take whatever you like! Well guess what pink boy, you're wrong!"

Feeling anger surge through her body, she lunged at him her mind set on hurting him as much as she could so that she could escape. She knew that he would be strong, but she was not prepared when his arms shot out and flipped her so that her back was pressed hard against his chest. She gasped when she found that she could not move and inch, she had thought that he was strong only with his ability, not with his whole body. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not remove his arms, and she knew instantly that she had lost the fight before it had even begun.

"Now that was a bit stupid wasn't it?" Doflamingo chuckled as he held her firmly. "Did you really think that you could take me on girl? I'll admit you could probably take down a few of my crew members, but me, you have no chance!"

As Doflamingo brought his head back in a throaty laugh, his whole crew joined in, and Charity felt the heat rise to her cheeks as embarrassment flooded through her blood. She had never been so humiliated in her whole life, not even by Cain. She had gone from a bad environment, to an even worse one in an instant, and she had done nothing to deserve it. Holding her head high she ignored the roar of laughter that could surely be heard across the other side of the Grand Line. Doflamingo was only trying to provoke her more and get a reaction.

"I'll admit that it was stupid to go at you with an attack before I even knew your fighting style. You're right, I probably could take down your whole crew, but you are too strong for me." She agreed poutting. The whole crew stopped laughing instantly to stare at her in puzzlement, all except Doflamingo that was, who kept an amused smirk on his face as she spoke. "I was just so scared that I would be killed, I couldn't just stand there could I?"

She desperately hoped that he would not see through her whiny voice, she guessed that it would be alright if he threw her overboard again, as the monster seemed to have figured there was no more food for it, and gone back undersea. She only hoped that if she was thrown into the water again, Doflamingo wouldn't be so nasty as to throw a piece of meat in after her. Though knowing her luck he would strap the meat to her body before he even considered throwing her overboard.

"You can drop the stupid act, I know that you weren't scared. You just thought that if you took me down, then it would be easy for you to escape." Doflamingo said in a bored tone, that suggested he was quickly becoming tired of their little fiasco. "You already cursed me for saying that you could have a position aboard this ship as a prostetute, because you don't do that. So tell me, why shouldn't I throw you overboard and let the fish eat you? You have no use to me."

"I'm a good cook, I could make you a wonderful meal." Charity said lamely. She was quickly running out of things to retort at him, he was just running her in circles, waiting for her to beg. "Though you will do with me as you see fit. I am not going to beg for my life, I'm not scared to die. I have faced death before, I can face it again!"

"You mean that I held you all this time for no good reason?" Doflamingo whined. "I thought that we were going to get a really good show from you, but I guess that's not the case. Very well, now I have to decide weather to throw you overboard or not."

"Do what you want, right now I don't care!" Charity grumbled at him. She was fed up with being chased in small circles where nothing was achieved. It was driving her crazy, and it didn't matter how hard she tried, he was always one step ahead of her in everything that was said. "I'm too tired to even think anymore, so I guess that my fate is in your hands."

She sighed softly as her legs started to shake with exhaustion from her arduous struggles against both the raging sea currents and the pirate Doflamingo. She could no longer focus on the things around her, and found that the only thing she wanted was to sleep for a long time. When she closed her eyes and leant into Doflamingo's chest she could feel the confusion radiating from his body. He had probably never had someone fall asleep in his arms when he was threatening to kill them, and it made her feel good to know that she was causing him so much stress.

"What are we supposed to do with her now boss?" Someone close by asked. "This has never happened before, are you going to throw her to the sea monster anyway?"

"That would not be any fun, she would be asleep and die without making the slightest sound. Besides I wasn't going to kill her anyway, she could be fun to have around for a while. We can always sell her as a slave if we get bored of her." Doflamingo drawled. "Take her to the brig and leave her there. Have someone guard her at all times and treat her as if she could escape at any moment, but don't mark her body. If she desperately needs something, give it to her, she is a smart woman and she will play you as much as she can, so don't let her fool you. If you have any problems with her; either call me down to see her, or bring her to me if you can."

Charity listened to Doflamingo's words but they made no sense to her. She couldn't see why he would treat her more like a guest than a prisoner, but she wasn't about to complain. She felt the strong arms of one of the crew members lift her up off the ground and then carry her to the confines of the brig. As she was laid on a small hard bed, she let sleep take her into warm arms, she would figure a way out of her problem when she awoke, she knew that she could outwit her agressor after all she had out smarted Cain for many years; how different could Doflamingo possibly be?


	3. 3: I bet you my life

A/N: Chapter 3. I bet you my life is now up! I really love working with Doflamingo, he is such a flexible character. When I read about him in the manga, I always depict him as a naughty, cheeky and rude character. Someone who likes to have a lot of fun and always get his own way while doing it. I also love my OC Charity, the idea of her really developed in Pirate Love, when I created her to be Doflamingo's mischievous wife. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please remember to review when you are finished so that I know that you liked it.

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!!

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The dull roaring of the sea churning beneath a large ship woke Charity from her exhausted slumber. It took her tired eyes time to adjust to the ashen lighting of her surroundings. Her eyes quickly scanned the small square room searching for even the slightest opening from which she could escape. There was not a single hole in the wooden planks that surrounded her, and upon further inspection she found that the large metal bars that covered both the doorway and the windows, were made from seastone. The brig had been designed to keep in any type of prisoner, the limits of her prison could survive against hours of battering from both the smartest person and the strongest person in the world. There was only one way that she would be able to escape, she would have to sweet talk the guard that she was sure was standing just outside the door of the room.

Stepping off the small bed that she had been placed on, she slowly passed her hands across the smooth boards of the floor. She was certain that there was a way for her to break lose of the suffocating atmosphere in the ice box that she was stuck within. Crossing her legs and chewing on her bottom lip, she absent mindedly scratched her wrist. From that small and thoughtless movement she came to a heart stopping realisation. The bracelet that her mother had given to her had disappeared from the place on her arm, and she was certain that it had been there before she fell unconscious. Rage consumed her entire being as her mind brought up the image of the only person who could have taken it, she would kill him before she let him have her most precious possession.

The small golden trinket was not valuable to her because it was worth a sum of money. It represented her hopes and dreams, as well as the last moments that she had shared with her disease ridden and dying mother. She would not rest until it was back with her, she would even sleep with Doflamingo if that was what it took. Of course she wouldn't tell him that unless he offered it as her only option. Looking down at her clothes she noticed that they were starting to disintegrate from the wear and tear that they had received over the past days. It had not be a wise move to wear a short and revealing dress on her sea trip. She may as well have been wearing only her bra and panties it barely covered any of her body, and the rich green it had once been was faded so much that it now looked like a sickly grey colour. The lace that had hung prettily from the bottom of dresses hem was nowhere to be found, and the once tight stitching was loose, threatening to fall apart at any second. She would have to get a change in clothing before she confronted Doflamingo again, he would not be able to take her seriously if her dress fell off while she was giving him a tongue lashing. It was no wonder that he had brushed her off when they had first met, she looked as though she had been swallowed by a sea king and then spat back out. In hindsight she must have looked like a slut who had just been rejected by her rich lover when she had first come aboard the ship.

Taking a deep breath she rehearsed for a moment her most demanding tone of voice. She would have to be convincing if she wanted the respect of Doflamingo and his crew. When she was certain that she could put on a good show, she lifted her hand high and slammed in down hard into the floor over and over until her insistent call was answered. A wooden door located half a meter from the iron barred egress of her cage swung open, allowing entry for a large sinewy man that she guessed was her guard. He stared at her for what seemed like hours, his face showing no emotion what so ever. Without thinking she swallowed hard, she would not be able to get out of the brig by force since her guard was easily ten times larger than her in height and muscle. The man crossed his arms over his chest and stood as still as a rock. It was only then that she remembered that Doflamingo had ordered his crew give her everything she wanted, her situation could work to her advantage if she played her cards well. Smiling at her custodian coyly she moved slowly to the very edge of the confining barred walls, twining her arms through them and relaxing her stance by leaning her weight upon them. She held direct eye contact with him for a while, a small smirk playing across her full lips and confidence radiating from her very soul before she broke the insufferable silence that consumed the occupants of the small room. Her voice sounded like honey as it reached the stony faced man's ear.

"My name's Charity, mind sharing yours so I can treat you with a little respect and address you properly?"

The guard didn't move or act as though he had heard her for so long that she was about to ask him again when he finally answered her question. "I already know your name, the Captain said to treat you as if you were an extremely important guest. You will not be hassled by any of the crew members, and the name's Bronto."

"Really?" She asked a sly smile replacing her previous smirk. It was going to be easier than what she had thought to run circles around Doflamingo and his crew. She would not even have to work all that hard to escape her death trap. "Do you think that you could do me one small favour? I need some new clothes, your Captain wouldn't want me to catch a cold down here in this draughty cage would he?"

"Is that all that you want? You are not hungry or thirsty?"

"No. The clothes are all that I want at this present time, I will tell you when I think of something else that I need." She watched as he exited the room before she let her plan start to fall into place.

Sucking in a deep breath she slipped one of her legs between the bars that surrounded her, she let her head and torso pass through next, and then pulled her other leg through. It had been a tight squeeze and she had made it through the minuscule gap barely. Letting out a breath she reached for the handle and placed her sweaty hand on it. Just as she was about to turn the knob, the door swung open and she found herself face to face with Bronto, her guard. She smiled weakly at him and waved her hand, a feeling of dread travelling from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Bronto didn't even blink as he handed her a pile of neatly folded clothes, and turned his back to her; his voice betrayed no emotion as opened the door once again.

"I will wait outside this door as you change into your new attire."

Poking her tongue out at Bronto's retreating back she unfolded the clothes that he had given her and examined them before putting them on. She had been given a beautiful red and black dress that would leave little to the imagination when she donned it. Doflamingo had definitely been the one to choose her new garments and she didn't allow herself the thought that he would not enjoy seeing her wearing such a garb, because he would get a lot of entertainment from it. After she had finished tyeing the many straps that went with the figure hugging dress that nearly showed her ass, she knocked hard on the wooden door to get Bronto's attention once again. She now successfully looked even worse than what she had when she had been wearing her sea destroyed and faded green dress. Now she looked like a maid who was also effectively a prostitute. Even Bronto had to mentally check himself as he walked into the room, and his eyes popped out of their sockets when they alighted on her provocative outfit. Her voice was hard as ice as she spoke to him quietly through gritted white teeth.

"Bronto would you be a dear and take me to your Captain? The two of us have a lot of discussing to do tonight, and I doubt that it will be finished by morning."

Still Bronto's face did not give her any insight to his thoughts, he would make sure that his mask did not slip again while he was in her company. He grabbed her wrist firmly as he took her to Doflamingo's office, and left her alone with his Captain who was currently sitting on his large desk that was situated in the middle of the spacious room. A large window that reached from the floor to the ceiling, covered the whole wall on one side and looked straight out over the ocean, it left her breathless as she stared over the waters glassy surface. A fire cackled merrily in a stone fireplace to her left, offering a warmth that fought off the freezing temperatures of the chilly Grandline weather. A fluffy mat filled the space left on the floor, a contrast to the comfortable business chairs behind the desk, and the long two person lounge that was placed next to a mahogany bookshelf. The room was one of the most tranquil and inviting places she had ever visited, and it made her wonder about the actual personality of the man smirking at her from across the room. His voice was playful when he talked to her, and his tone suggested that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

"I see that you found the clothes that I left with you. Too bad that your ass is so rotund, if it wasn't then maybe you would actually fit into the dress. Though don't be discouraged, I think that you are quite appealing to the eye."

Her blood pressure skyrocketed at his proceeding cackle and all friendly thoughts that she had previously had for him fled from the recess of her mind, as heat travelled to her face. She would admit that the clothes he had given her were tight against her body, but he had taken it too far and the frail hold she had on her temper snapped. Instead of ignoring him, she rose to his bait serving to amuse him even more.

"Of course that is not your brain that is talking now is it? You appeal to me Mr Doflamingo as the type of man who follows his dick with everything that he does! The type of man that wouldn't know what etiquette was even if it came and bit him square on the bum!"

Doflamingo cackled. "So what if I am? What do you plan to do about it? You can not escape from my ship single handedly, that is an impossibility."

As Doflamingo flicked his wrist and took control of her body, the light caught on a small golden bracelet wrapped around his wrist. He sat her down in one of the black leather chairs in front of his desk, and flaunted his treasure in front of her hate filled eyes. When he un-latched the clasp and dangled it in front of her face, she found herself speechless with rage. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she made to snatch the trinket from his grip.

"That is mine! You have no right to take it from me, give it back this instant!"

"You want this back?" Doflamingo asked pulling her into him as she stood. She found herself in a very uncomfortable and sexual position as he pushed both of their lower regions together, his slight movement causing blissful friction. "You will have to win it back from me if it means that much to you; but first answer me this, why does this piece of scrap metal mean so much to you?"

She felt outraged that he could refer to her mother's gift as a piece of garbage; though she succeed in pushing her voice out of her throat and making it sound firm and confident, which was a admirable feat considering the sensations that played havoc in her body every time that one of them moved even slightly.

"It was my mother's most precious piece of jewelery, it was given to her by my father. It symbolises all of my hopes and dreams for the future. It is all I have left of everything and everyone that I ever loved."

"Oh cry me a river! Dreams are for the weak, you should concentrate on the events of the present and let the future work itself out." Doflamingo scoffed, running his hands over her buttox; grinning when she gasped softly, nearly inaudibly and moved unconsciously closer which only heightening the friction between the two of them.

She wouldn't deny that she was attracted to the dangerous man in front of her. He was everything that she was not, and that instilled an excitement in her that would not be compressed no matter how hard she tried. "You said that I could win my freedom and my bracelet back. What do you want me to do?"

"If I remember correctly I only said that you could win your trinket back, I never said anything about freedom. Though I guess that you can have your freedom as well, if you win. All that you have to do is win against me in a game of poker."

"You like to gamble?"

"Of course, it is very attractive but let me tell you a little secret." Doflamingo leaned closer, his lips lightly brushing her ear, sending a delicious shiver through her spine and his warm breath against her heated skin contributing to the sexual tension stretching between them. "I am a very lucky man. I never loose when it comes to gambling, especially with card games."

"Well guess what? I have God on my side and he doesn't like sinners."

She knew that she could fight fire with fire, so she slid her lips across his cheek and nipped at his bottom lip before pulling away and breaking their contact. It would work to her advantage if she flustered him, though her movements seemed only to excite him further as he served her a stack of cards from a small square box that had been sitting on his desk.

Unfortunately for her, she had no idea how to play poker, so when he set down his cards and told her that he had a royal flush, she had to blink before she fully understood what he was saying. After six successive games, she had finally picked up on the rules of the game, but she knew that ultimately she had lost her freedom, and her dreams. Doflamingo grinned and ran his tongue suggestively over her bottom lip before whispering in her ear.

"You lost, now I choose weather you live or die!"

She felt pure fear run through her. Her situation had seemed like a game until he had uttered those simple words. Now she realised that it had quickly turned into a gamble for her life, one that she had lost. She sunk back into her chair disheartened. "Do with me what you like. Everything that I worked towards is gone now anyway, I have only my dignity left."

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and waited for him to strike her. When the blow didn't arrive she glanced up into his patient gaze, her eyes flitting across his features looking for a hint at his hidden thoughts. He moved towards her in a fluid and graceful movement, his hand opening her own so that her palm was turned upwards. He dropped the warm golden bracelet into her hand and then closed it back into a loose fist. His voice was light when he spoke, yet it held a trace of venom and an unmistakeable threat.

"You say that you only have your dignity left? I am not going to kill you, I am going to strip your dignity from you and have you work aboard my ship for the rest of your pitiful life. If you try to escape, then I will crush everything you love and then end your life. What skills do you have that would be worth my time?"

She held back the threatening tears as she thanked whoever was looking over her, for her luck and letting her live to maybe see her dreams. "I can cook."

"Good enough, you start straight away. Now let's go and meet the crew shall we?"


	4. 4: I am Woman, hear me roar!

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a day late! But I had to redo it three times, and I'm sorry to say that I am still not all that happy with the end result. I found that unfortunately this chapter was a lot harder to write than what I thought it would be, so I'm sorry if Doflamingo is OOC. Please tell me if you enjoyed it at the end however, so that I know what is good about the chapter and what is bad about the chapter.

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!!!

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Swaying awkwardly with the rough movements of the ship, Charity followed Doflamingo silently down a narrow hallway. The hallway was plain compared to his beautiful office and she found herself wondering how many people could say they had seen his hideaway. She could see that he had good taste, and she had to quench the sudden need to see more of his ship. Somehow she didn't think that he would appreciate her snooping through the halls without him by her side; she may enter a room that he wants to keep to himself, and it was best if she stayed out of his way. His threat still rang freshly through her mind as a mental image of Felicity appeared in her head. He would find her and keep his promise, and Charity was determined not to let that happen. She would protect her sister with whatever it took.

As the two of them neared the exit of the hallway, she felt her heart start to beat painfully against her ribs in anticipation. The crew were a wild lot, she had seen that when she had first boarded the pirate ship. They were a group that she would usually avoid, now it seemed as though the tides had turned and she would have to make them respect her anyway she could. Throwing her chin defiantly in the air, her stride became longer, though it was still too small to match that of Doflamingo who seemed to be very relaxed as he strolled down the corridor. Finally they entered another room which she could identify straight away as the kitchen. There were two other people in the kitchen; one was a tall sleek and beautiful blonde, and the other was a roundtund brunette who looked very cheery.

"Morning Ladies." Doflamingo greeted and for the first time that day Charity realized that she had slept through the night when she had been put in the cell. "I would like to introduce you to our new cook."

The two ladies bowed their heads and curtseyed, making her eyes widen in horror. She would not be bowing to anyone on the ship, her pride would not allow her to do what Doflamingo obviously demanded his crew do.

"Charity, this is Laelia." Doflamingo pointed to the tall blonde, who gave her a drop dead stare when he wasn't looking. Then he pointed to the short Brunette. "And this is Kali. The two of them are the cooks aboard this ship. You will listen to their every word and obey whatever they say, they are in charge in the kitchen."

"Understood, Captain" Charity said sarcastically as she saluted.

Doflamingo's movements were as quick as lightning as he shot over to her and glared down at her, his whole being radiating anger. Gently he took her chin in his hand and made her look up at him. "I am your Captain, you will listen to what I say!"

"Yes I will listen to what you say, but not what your crew says. These ladies, I will cooperate with them, and I will not cause them any difficulties." She looked at him, a smirk appearing at her lips. "Of course I may slip some poison herbs into your dinner of a night time, so you better not let me cook your meals."

"You will not be able to poison me, I will be able to tell if the food is spoiled, and I will not blame you." Doflamingo grinned and then chuckled. "I will hurt you by hurting someone else. You are not afraid of death, so I will make you afraid of me, understand?"

"Of course I understand." She said brightly, smiling at him. "You're a stupid pig who thinks that he will get away with anything just because he snaps his fingers! You want me to fear you because you're scared of me!"

"Scared of you?" Doflamingo stared at her for a while before bursting into laughter.

Kali looked on with wide eyes, while Laelia annoyingly joined in on Doflamingo's laughter. Charity knew who in the kitchen she would get along with and who she wouldn't; and it was not Lealia that she would be best friends with. "Don't laugh Don. You know that you don't like the way that I am independent. Look at your crew, they are at your very beck and call. Why? Because you have a stupid devil fruit ability that does nothing! Just because you fight them with their bodies and not with a weapon!"

"What did you call me? And I know they are scared of my ability, but I can also fight with weapons just as well. You know that for a fact, you witnessed it yesterday when you charged me."

Charity gritted her teeth and stared at Doflamingo, her chin raised in defiance. She would not back down to him not matter what he said, she would stand her ground with the crew. She knew that if she did not, she would find herself at the bottom of the food chain in a worse of position than what she was currently in.

"Like I said, I will cooperate with them, but we will be a team, and none of us will be the boss. It will work out better that way."

"Fine, just as long as you cook good meals then I will be happy. Lets go meet the rest of the crew shall we?" Doflamingo chuckled and walked out of the kitchen and onto the deck, signaling for her to follow.

As she looked around the deck she was amazed by how many people she saw. She had known that Doflamingo had a large crew, but she had not been aware of its full size. She guessed that there was probably over a hundred people, all of them with a rough background; the lot of them were very intimidating but she refused to show them her fear. Instead she looked each and everyone of them in the eye. She was very pleased however when she made eye contact with Bronto, who smiled and waved slightly.

Doflamingo chuckled before his voice rang out over the deck of his ship, catching the attention of everyone aboard. "Crew, meet out new member! Her name is Charity, and she is going to be one of the cooks on the ship!"

The crew all looked at her expectantly and when she smiled slightly and waved, they let out a massive cheer, that made the entire boat rock. They had been waiting for another cook aboard the ship, the meals were often slow because there were so many mouths to feed.

"This calls for celebration, no longer will you wait as long to feed your hungry stomachs of a night!" Doflamingo held up his hand in a toast as sake was handed around the entire ship. Charity shook her head slightly and made her way to where Bronto was sitting. He smiled at her and patted the seat beside him, indicating that she should sit.

"I knew that you would get yourself out of that cage." He said, a humorous glint in his eyes. "You seem like a smart woman, there are a lot of people that would be dead by now if they had been in your position."

Charity smiled slightly. She was not sure weather she had done the right thing, as she was now forever connected to Doflamingo and his pirate ship. She would never do the things that she had always wanted to do, but she would on the other hand see the world just like her mother had wanted her to. "I guess, but I think that the Captain was in a very generous mood. He even gave me my bracelet back."

"Why does that bracelet mean so much to you? That is of course if you don't mind me asking such a personal question."

"No that's quite alright." Charity smiled down at the gold chain hugging her wrist. She let her finger trace its links before she told her companion its story. "My mother gave me this bracelet as she was dying from a disease that eats the body from the inside out. She told me not to show my step father, and to keep it with me at all times. She knew that it would be the only thing that I inherited from her, and since it was given to her by my real father, she wanted me to have it and no one else."

Doflamingo had now wandered over and was sitting in front of her, an expression on his face telling her that he wanted to hear more, to know more. "Why were you out at sea then? Did you go mental when your mother died or something? I heard people can lose their mind when they lose a close family member."

"Well I didn't exactly go mental. My mother had told me to leave town, so I got ready to sail to the next island. My step father has always hated me, but when he offered to sail me over, I thought that maybe with my mother's death fresh in his mind, he may want to start our relationship afresh." Charity sighed and shook her head at her own stupidity. "Our ship was hit by a storm out at sea, and I had just finished tying my half sister to the mast, when I slipped. My step father watched me fall, he wanted me to drown."

"You are useless aren't you?" Doflamingo asked, but before he could continue his soon to be tirade he was interrupted by Bronto.

"I know how much family can mean to a person. I had to leave my family so that they would not get into trouble. My sister was so young back then that she probably doesn't even remember me; but I would never trade my lifestyle for anything else. I send my family some of the loot that I make, though we try not to talk too much, lest the Marines find out."

"Do you have photos of them, or something to remind you what they were like?" Charity asked interested. It was now evident to her that Bronto was not your run of the mill pirate who cared for nothing at all. "That's what I love so much about this bracelet. It reminds me very much about my mother."

"I have old outdated photos of them. I don't think I need anything else, they are living their lives and they are happy. That is all that I need to know."

Charity could almost feel Doflamingo's restlessness as he listened to them speak. He figited and would not stay still, she was just about to snap at him, when the music changed to a slow pace and he grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest. "Dance with me!"

Before she could reply she found herself glued to his chest, swaying slightly to the rhythm of the music. A few more couples joined them, and she could not help but be confused. Doflamingo's crew would have to be one of the weirdest pirate crews to ever sail the sea. "Why are we dancing?"

"Its what a man and woman do when they are sexually attracted. It stimulates the body because of the close contact, without the arousal of sex." Doflamingo explained to her confidently. "I will have you in my bed one day."

Charity nearly froze at his words. "How do you come up with all of this bull crap? Is this how you woo a woman, by feeding her a line about sexual arousal, and dancing?"

"Most women aren't scared of sex. I usually don't have to work for them, they come to me and fall into my bed whenever I need them to." He explained, his voice gloating. "I show them a little bit of power and they come flocking towards me."

"Then why don't you go tell some of those women your lines? Because I don't want to hear them." Charity snapped at the young pirate, who's hands had become lower and lower until they sat firmly on her buttox, pushing her into him more firmly. "You have a dirty mouth and quite frankly I don't like that in a man. If you say anything else that is derogatory I will be forced to wash your mouth out with soap."

"You and what army?"

Just as she was about to reply with a sarcastic remark, a loud explosion split the air causing the boat to rock wildly from the vibrations. She clutched at Doflamingo's jacket tightly and buried her head in his warm chest for a moment. "What was that?"

"It looks as though we have company. Tell me, can you fight at all?"

"Of course I can fight, don't insult me!" Charity said affronted. Her mother had placed her into martial arts class at an early age, and her father had taught her basic techniques when he had visited her. "How many do you think there are?"

Doflamingo did not answer her as he chuckled and took control of the bodies of some of the enemy pirate crew. He had them fighting each other and seemed to be having fun. Charity shook her head and turned to face black beady eyes. The eyes belonged to a short fat man, who was wearing a long Captains jacket and a large hat. He ran at her, but his movement was so slow that she dodged his assault with ease. Unfortunately for her, he had been bluffing so the next time he came rushing towards her, he knocked her to the ground.

Cursing herself for her careless analysis of her opponent, she stood back on her feet and faced her opponent once again. He was a lot stronger than she had first thought that he was, and a lot faster than what he should have been; especially with all the weight that he carried around on his body. She knew that she would have to stop defending and start with the offensive techniques that she had been taught. So the third time that he ran at her, she stood still and rammed her fist into the base of his throat. When he bent forward to gasp in a breath, she slammed her fists into his back and brought her knee up into his ribs. He fell to the ground knocked unconscious.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, charity dodged two more attacks and quickly defeated three of the enemy pirates. Looking around she saw that most of them had been knocked out or killed by Doflamingo and his crew. Holding a hand to her mouth, Charity pushed away the disgust that filled her. She had beaten her opponents up pretty badly, but she had not killed them, she could not kill them.

"Well done crew!" Doflamingo shouted with glee as he faced his men. "Once again, another fight has been won and now we can go back to the celebrations, this time I will make a toast to the whole crew for our performance in the fight!"

A loud, deafening roar sounded all around the deck of the ship as the festivities started up once again. Doflamingo grinned and held his bottle of sake in the air. Charity shook her head and sat back down, watching as the pirates sang with slurred words, and told riveting stories of horrid adventures. She wasn't sure if she was pirate material, but there was one thing that she would not be denied for the rest of her life. She would never get bored if she stayed with Doflamingo and his crew, there would always be something to do.

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Well that's the end of Chapter 4!! Next chapter is Chapter 5: Stalked. Remember to review and let me know weather you liked this chapter or not :P 


	5. 5: Stalked

A/N: Okay here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it :D Remember to review and tell me what you think!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!!!

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Charity stared at the crystal surface of the sea as she leaned against the side of the ship. She found it hard to believe that she had already been a part of Doflamingo's crew for a whole month, to her it felt as though she had only been a crew member for a week. She had been having so much fun that time had flown past in a matter of minutes, without her even recognizing it. She had made friends with most of the crew, and was happy to play a game of poker or two with them; she had improved in that area a lot, but of course Doflamingo always creamed her whenever she squared off against him and she often found herself loosing her loot. The only real rival she had on the ship was Laelia, who seemed to hate her for no particular reason; not that it bothered her, it added to the gossip that she regularly shared with Kali. Doflamingo had become easier to live with as well, he had stopped being so up front and personal with her, instead adopting a gentleman like aura. Of course his halo was down around his ankles, but she was happy enough to accept that he wasn't going to change much more; and she could also ignore the rapidly depleting sexual comments that he sometimes threw her way. It was his nature to be a down right tease and uncomfortable person, it was who he was, and no matter how hard she tried she knew that she would never change that; she wasn't even going to try. As she continued to bask in her silent thought process a shout split the air from the crows nest, rudely bringing her back to reality.

"Land-ho Captain!"

Her heart leapt with excitement as adrenaline ran through her veins. She had not seen land since she had boarded Cain's ship, now they were finally docking to stock up on supplies. She had been saving a small portion of her loot for when they eventually docked. She had not once put her savings on the line in a card game, as she knew that she would want cloths when they finally came to land. Even though she wanted her own clothes, she could not help thinking once again that Doflamingo had good taste; especially when it came to women's clothing. The dresses that he had let her borrow may have been more revealing than what she would have usually wore, as they clung tightly to her figure, but she liked them all the same. She had never really been the centre of attention, and the dresses she had been wearing caught the eyes of most of the males in the crew. It attracted comments about her buttocks from Doflamingo, but she chose to ignore him when he told her that she had a fat ass. She didn't care what he said, or at least that was what she made herself believe.

"Bring her into port, this looks as good as any place to stock up on supplies!" Doflamingo bellowed across the deck. Charity felt her heart leap as the island became clearer when the ship neared it.

The island could be called the definition of beauty itself. It was an autumn island where huge ancient trees made their home. The small brown and yellow coloured houses had been built up close to the trunks, using their thick circumference as a sturdy wall. When the ship finally knocked gently against the town's dock, she noticed that there was a huge market place in the middle of the town. People laughed and chattered as they met friends, and children danced and squealed with glee around their mother's ankles playing tag with their next door neighbour. She hadn't noticed that she had been staring starry eyed at the scene in front of her, until she felt someone's hot breath tickling the back of her neck and she was rudely pulled back from her daydream for the second time that day. In annoyance she snapped around to face the person who had interrupted her, and to her chagrin it was Doflamingo with a huge grin on his face.

"What?!"

Doflamingo chuckled at her defensive shout. He had caught her red handed, and now he would have some fun with her. "Is that any way to treat your Captain?"

"Oh fuck off!"

Charity stormed away, angry that she had let her demeanour slip even slightly. Since she had joined the ship, she had hidden all of her feelings and made herself a new personality. She liked the new Charity, she liked doing things a different way, but sometimes her old self would slip through an unknown crack, and take her unaware. Seeing all the families on the island walking through the market place had brought back long forgotten memories of her child hood, before Cain had made his appearance. Her life had been full of joy in those days, and she had been the child that squealed in glee as she ran in circles around her parents ankles. Her father had visited more frequently back then, and would swing her up onto his mighty shoulders before spinning her in circles. She had been happy then.

Shaking herself out of her depressed state of mind, she focused on her next move. First things were first, she had to buy herself some new clothing. Tossing her head proudly, she turned to face her still snickering Captain. She had a small fortune saved, so she knew she would not be relying on him.

"Do you mind if I go into town to buy some new clothes. I do not want to have to sponge clothes of you for the rest of my life, charming as they are."

Doflamingo grinned and let his gaze travel her body making her skin heat from the expression in his eyes, he then pouted. "I like the clothes you are in."

"I know you do, but I'm not here to please you am I?" She countered. "Besides you have plenty of other females to gawk at aboard this ship, make them wear your clothes. They will jump at the chance to be in your favour."

"This is true." Doflamingo said thoughtfully. "If you really think you need to spend your money buying clothes, at least buy decent ones."

"I was going to buy decent clothes. Ones that don't show half my breasts and ass." Charity retorted. While it was true that he had good taste, Doflamingo did not know the meaning of the word modesty. All of the clothing he owned was skimpy and showed as much flesh as was possible with the garment. "I will not be long, maybe an hour or two; three at the most. Where do you want me to meet back up with you?"

"We will all be at the bar, so go there after you have finished your shopping."

With that said, Charity turned on her heal and marched off the ship. Her neck burned as she felt a dagger like gaze piercing her neck. Turning she saw Laelia glaring at her with a hate so intense that it made her skin crawl. She had never before seen such an emotion in the eyes of another human. It shocked her that she could have made her comrade so angry by simply going shopping for a few hours. A foreboding feeling crept over her neck as she continued to walk into the cheery town, but she shook it off blaming the balmy weather.

The street seemed to become quiet and still as she walked among the towns people, and she could have sworn they were whispering behind their hands about her. If she looked at them for any length in time, they would drop their gaze and quickly move away ashamed to be caught goggling. Biting her bottom lip, Charity pretended that she hadn't noticed the abrupt change in the people around her and continued on her business. She entered the first shop that looked remotely like a clothes shop, thankful for the small security it gave her.

Looking around she noticed it was a small shop filled to the brim with racks upon racks of clothing. The shop was so full that she could barely move an inch without knocking something over.

"What may I do for you my dear?" A wheezy voice asked from her right, making her jump in fright.

She turned towards the source to find a small man with an awfully long grey beard staring at her from beneath round spectacles. She had to forcefully reign in her will to stop from laughing at the picture before her. The man looked as though he had stepped out of a medieval fairy tale. The only thing that was missing was the tall wizards hat.

Clearing her throat to mask her amusement, Charity stepped forward and let her sight wander lazily around the store. "I need some clothing that is comfortable and relatively cheap."

"Do you want clothing the same as what you have on, my dear?" The man asked, making her feel more than a little uncomfortable when he examined her thoroughly.

"Something that is not so reviling. I am aboard a ship made up of mostly men, and I would prefer it if they didn't get any ideas." Charity lied.

She enjoyed being the centre of attention aboard the ship, especially when that attention was coming for the Captain himself. She also loved wearing the clothes that he had leant her, they made her feel beautiful because they drew everyone's eyes. It was a feeling that she was not accustomed to.

"Ah, I see my lady. Would I be correct in assuming that maybe you have some male friends that may be pirates? I will not hold it against you of course."

Charity's senses screamed danger as she examined the store owner once again. He seemed nervous, and frequently changed his standing position by shifting his weight from foot to foot. Exercising extreme caution, she smiled slightly and lied without skipping a beat. "Oh I wish. Then maybe they would make some damn money. Unfortunately it is a regular boys night for my poker addicted lazy husband; but I have to be there tonight otherwise I won't see him before he goes back out to sea."

The old man sighed in visible relief. "I just don't want any trouble to come to my shop, or my family. I am only a simple man."

The corners of Charity's mouth twisted in a wry smile, somehow she didn't think he was telling the whole truth. She ignored it however, as everyone had something to hide.

"I'm just your simple working class girl, who is sick of the looks she gets from the men that work aboard her husband's merchant ship." Charity told him convincingly. "Could you please find me some clothes? I really am in a hurry."

The man nodded seriously and hurried through a door at the back of the store. After a few minutes he emerged with a box full of clothes. He held each garment up, and Charity could not help but be impressed, they were both modest yet revealing at the same time. He was adamant about the price however, and would not budge from charging her one thousand beli. Grudgingly she accepted the high fee, she was after all getting quite a few articles of clothing, and she also wanted to leave the shop as soon as she could. She had a bad feeling, and she was anxious to be back with the crew.

After finally purchasing everything that she needed, Charity said goodbye to the strange man and made her way back down the street. It was decidedly less crowded now, since most people had either fled from the pirates or had finished their shopping and gone home for the night. As she continued to walk however, the cold feeling at the back of her neck become worse and she stopped often to look behind her, certain that she was being watched. It was only when she was in a particularly quiet alleyway that she heard footsteps behind her. She swung around quickly to see the retreating shadow of an unknown figure.

Heart racing Charity decided to take no chances and took to her heals, walking as quickly as she could towards the bar where Doflamingo had told her to meet him. Even though she had not seen the face or body of her stalker, the shadow had been enough to get her blood pumping and she knew that it was no trick of her mind. She was being followed and she had been ever since she had left the small clothes store. She let out a small victorious sound as the bar, and a few of her crew mates, who were laying drunkenly on the side path, came into sight. She knew that she would be safe as soon as she passed through the doors and into the protective and safe view of Doflamingo.

Turning again she caught a quick glimpse of the full body of her stalker. She felt her blood freeze at the emblem on the person's shoulder. Whimpering slightly she turned and ran the few paces that separated her from the sanctuary of the bar.

She flew through the doors Doflamingo the most welcome sight that she had ever seen. She rushed over to him, out of breath, and sat down trying to stop her frantic thoughts as they whirled through her congested mind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a strange look pass between Doflamingo and Bronto, but she ignored it and sat silently staring at her clenched hands, waiting for one of them to speak. Finally after nearly fifteen minutes of no verbal exchange, Doflamingo could no longer hold in his curiosity.

"What's wrong with you? You look as though you just lost your best friend."

"Do you really care what is wrong with me?" Charity asked quietly without thinking. "You would throw me overboard if I did something wrong, I mean nothing to you or the crew."

"You're the best cook we have on board the ship. Why are you being so stupid, you are usually the girl that doesn't show emotion." Doflamingo remarked casually as her eyes filled with tears. "Why are you all of a sudden doubting everything that you know? What happened while you were on your own?"

Charity closed her eyes and willed the tears to vanish. They didn't, and continued to slip down her cheeks like a waterfall. She knew that she should not be so emotional, nothing had happened, but she had recognised the signature on her stalkers vest. She had only caught a glimpse of it, but it had been enough to make goose pimples cover her whole body. She was suddenly very aware of the man sitting beside her, as heat crept into her belly. His hand had enclosed around her wrist as he tried to recapture her attention. When she still would not look him in the eye, he lifted her chin with more gentleness that she would have ever thought him capable and she knew that she belonged to him.

"Tell me what is wrong, Charity. Just this morning you were insulting me, now you are crying, I need to know the troubles of my crew mates especially if it may concern me." Doflamingo said firmly his eyes staring into her own, unblinking. "Now tell me, or I will force it from you lips."

"I-I W-Was b-being f-f-followed." Charity sobbed. "I-I k-know who it was that was f-following me. He had the crest of my step father Cain... Cain hates me Don, he has promised to kill me, and he must know that I am alive. He was the reason that I was in the ocean when you found me."

"Is that all?" Doflamingo asked still holding her chin in a strong grip. "I will go with you and have a look for this stalker. If we find him I will question him and then he won't bother you again. Will that make you feel better?"

Charity nodded amazed at her Captain. She had expected him to laugh and mock her, yet he had done the opposite and quelled all of her fears with a few carefully chosen words. It made her shiver when he grinned and moved forward to lightly brush his lips across hers in a phantom of a kiss that was over far too soon for her liking. She felt warmth travel through her entire body.

Smiling slightly she stood up and followed Doflamingo from the bar. She felt as though she was in the middle of the perfect fairy tale as the two of them searched the whole entire town. They did not find their culprit however, which gave her the creeps and scared her to death. It seemed as if her step father had found out that she was still alive, and she knew that he would stop at nothing to see that she was dead once and for all. He would most likely jump at the chance to be the one to fill her grave when she was buried she thought bitterly.

"It doesn't look as though there is anyone around with the description that you described. Either they have left already, or..." Doflamingo grinned at her. "... you wanted to spend time with me, so you faked the whole thing. You effectively got me to yourself, though I am still waiting for you to make your move."

"You are such a dick." Charity said angrily as he continued to grin stupidly at her. "I was telling the truth and you know it. I don't break down into tears often, and when I do it is always for a bloody good reason!"

"Whatever. I know that you want me." Doflamingo threw over his shoulder as he walked back into the bar leaving Charity to ponder her thoughts.

Shrugging away her fears she followed him quietly back into the bar. Taking her place beside Doflamingo she mentally made herself relax. Cain would never be so stupid as to attack her while she was with Doflamingo so all as she had to do was to stay in close vicinity to him as much as she possibly could.

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That's the end of chapter 5. I hope you liked it!! Chapter 6: Jealousy is the Devil, is up next!!! Remember to review!! 


	6. 6: Jealousy is the Devil

A/N: Wow, chapter 6 is up! This story is coming along very nicely and I am having a lot of fun writing it :D Well I hope you enjoy this installment, so remember to review and not be lazy! I like to hear what people think of this story believe it or not! So ENJOY!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!!

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Charity cursed under her breath for what seemed to her like the hundredth time. She had cleaning duty and the ship was in the most foul of conditions. Empty food packets littered the floor in the men's quarters and an inch thick slime covered the walls from the floor to the ceiling. None of the beds were ever made, and the blankets that kept them warm were starting to smell as well as decay with mould. Wincing slightly, she pulled the blankets up and threw them on the floor, disgusted to see that some of the beds were crawling with flees and cockroaches. She wondered how the men of _The Flying Duchess_ could live in such poor conditions, if they cleaned once every week they would not be living with rodents and bugs. She couldn't help but to feel less than friendly towards Laelia, who had been the one to get her such a wonderful job. Laelia had gone to Doflamingo her lips moulded into a pout and had whined to him about equality aboard the ship. Charity had been given the whole morning to have the ship shining before he got back. The only thing that worked out in her favour was the fact that he had asked Laelia to help her, a deed that Laelia was less than ready to like.

Once she had stripped all the beds, and added new blankets to them, which she had bough in town, Charity moved onto the women's quarters. She was glad to see that her job was somewhat easier with the fact that the women were much more hygienic than the men. The only chores that she was forced to accomplish was stripping the beds and remaking them, as well as dusting. The only room left for her now was that of the Captain. Taking a deep breath, she took the women's sheets to the laundry, and then made her way to the Captain's quarters. With her hand on the door knob she was just about to enter when she heard a yell from behind her. Startled she jumped around to come face to face with none other than Laelia.

Laelia glared at her hauntily before a smirk appeared on her pretty face. Her voice was like poison when she hissed at Charity.

"There's no need to go into that room, I've already cleaned it good and proper."

"Really?" Charity asked sincerely happy that she did not have to clean another room. Then a thought occurred to her and it was too good to pass up. "Then you won't mind if I have a sneak peek, just to make sure that you have done it right? The Captain's room has to be the cleanest of them all."

Laelia gave her a drop dead look, but did not object when Charity opened the door to look inside. The room was one of the most impressive that she had ever seen. In the far most corner was a large queen size bed with a mahogany head rest. A wardrobe stood in the other corner and three small windows spread over the far wall. It was an extremely handsome room, and she could not help but gape. Shaking her head, she checked the bed to see that it still had the same old sheets on it. They looked as though they had not been changed for months. Pushing down her annoyance she quickly stripped the bed and remade it with her soft new blankets.

Laelia had long left the scene rolling her eyes and muttering about goody two shoes and show-off's. Charity carried the blankets back to the laundry and started to wash by hand the many blankets that she had pulled from beds that morning. It took her to mid day to wash them all and hang them out to dry, but she was pleased with the work that she had accomplished in such a small amount of time. Humming a soft tune that her mother had often sung to her before bed, Charity made her way back to the deck, pleased with the new clean aura that surrounded the ship. She wasn't however ready for Laelia when she attacked.

"What did you do all this for? You went overboard and the Captain is not going to be pleased with this. I will take no responsibility with what you have done!"

"Fine, I don't care what you do and don't do Laelia. Doflamingo will be pleased, he wanted me to clean the ship so I did, and it looks damn good!" Charity stepped closer to Laelia, ready to take her out with one good punch. "You're just extremely lazy and he hasn't got the time to reprimand you when you don't do your work, so you get away with it. I'm not going to sit here and do nothing, especially after I have seen the state of the rooms!"

Without warning Laelia threw herself at Charity, digging her nails deep into sensitive flesh. Charity cried out and fought back, bringing her knee upwards to connect with Laeila's stomach. Charity promised herself that she would not fall to Laelia's level and strike out with her nails or teeth; she would instead fight Laelia with skill and strength.

Just as Charity was about to take another swing at Laelia her hand stopped in mid-air, and her body jumped backwards, as did Laelia's. The two women stared at each other mystified, before slowly turning their heads to see their Captain. A smirk on his handsome face, Doflamingo was the picture of self appraisal. He looked at them with a knowing gleam in his eyes, as well as an inflated ego. As she stared at his face, she wanted to rip the hair from her head in frustration. He always seemed to turn up at the wrong time.

"Now girls, there is no reason for you to fight over me. There is plenty to share around, you can both clean my room for me." Doflamingo cackled at the look on their faces as the two girls continued to look at him as if they had just seen a ghost. "Charity, I need to talk to you anyway, so when the two of you have finished with your little brawl come to me. I will be patiently awaiting your attendance on the dock."

Charity glared at Doflamingo's retreating back, before facing her opponent once again. This time when she got ready to launch herself on Laelia, all the fight and resentment had left her. Laelia had also calmed down, and instead of pursuing the battle, she simply sniffed, threw her head high into the air and stormed off; careful not to make eye contact with Charity.

Shaking her head, Charity glanced around the deck making sure everything was in its proper place as she stalled for time. She was nervous about her meeting with Doflamingo, he didn't usually ask his crew members to talk to him directly. Most times they just talked to Bronto instead since he was Doflamingo's most trusted member. Sighing and deciding that her confrontation with her Captain was unavoidable, Charity climbed down the rope ladder in pursuit of Doflamingo. She found him close by looking out at the sea from his place on the dock.

The dock was ancient looking, and battered from the years that it had been standing. Charity imagined that once it would have been a proud mechanism, but with the battering of violent waves during unpredicted storms, it had started to decay and grow mould.

"You wanted to talk to me Captain?" Charity said quietly as she approached Doflamingo's still form. "The way that you sounded when you asked for me, makes me think that it will be very important what you have to tell me."

"It is very important." Doflamingo answered without his usual humour. Charity felt herself freeze, he seemed abnormally quiet for once. "Do you by any chance recognise this label?"

Doflamingo held up a piece of black cloth with an embroidered symbol on it. Charity gasped as she recognised her Step Father's family crest. It was the same symbol that had been sewn to her stalker's outfit. When she grasped the material her hands shook, and when she spoke her voice was rather high pitched.

"That's my step father, Cain's family crest." Charity looked up into Doflamingo's eyes, and she knew that he was waiting for her to continue with an explanation. "It it the same symbol that was on the front of the outfit of the person that was following me. My step father must have found out by him that I am still alive, and maybe he is sending men out after me so that he can kill me."

"Why does this man want to kill you so badly?" Doflamingo asked suspiciously. "If he is your step father you would think that he would want you to be kept safe, not killed. What did you do to him to gain such hate?"

"He wants my mother's fortune, without me alive then my half sister, Felicity, gains the rights to all of our mother's fortune. Felicity does everything that Cain tells her so he knows that he can get to the money through her. He will probably marry her off or something in the end." Charity swallowed hard at the thought of her sister. She hoped that Felicity was all right without her. "He also had a rivalry with my father, Cain was a marine officer while my father was a pirate. When my father was locked up and never seen again he swooped in on my mother, it was like a victory type thing to him, that he had taken all my father had loved. Cain actually developed feelings for my mother, but he always hated me and when we were in the storm it was the perfect opportunity for him to dispose off me without raising suspicion."

"He sounds like a scoundrel, so what do you plan to do about his renewed interest in you? Do you want to be the one who kills him, or do you want me to do it for you?"

"No. We can't kill him Don, if he is dead then Felicity will have nothing left. It is much better if he is left alive." Charity clutched desperately at his arm. "Please stay away from them, she is the only one of my family members that I have left, and she needs her father. Do not make it harder for her, she has already lost her mother and her sister."

"Fine whatever you want. Now why don't we go and have some lunch? I'm hungry." Doflamingo said rubbing his stomach and making Charity giggle. "Why don't you join me, you hardly ever spend any time with the crew and you have been here for quiet a while."

"That sounds like fun." Charity said, blushing slightly at the attention given to her by Doflamingo. "I suppose I need to spend a little more time with everyone, I don't really have many close friends aboard the ship."

"Yeah you have enemies instead." The cheekiness had come back to Doflamingo's voice and he cackled when Charity playfully punched him on the arm. "I had to stop the fight that was going on between you and Laelia, all because you cleaned my room."

"Why did you stop that fight anyway. Laelia seems to be able to look after herself, and no offence but you are the type of person who gets enjoyment out of watching a fight." Charity chastised Doflamingo. "One more punch and then I would have put her in her place and she would have understood that just cleaning the floor is not enough. The state that the ship was in before I cleaned it was disgusting, and it has taken me all morning to make it better! Plus I had to use all of the new sheets that I bought the other day, lucky I bought them in bulk isn't it?"

"I stopped the fight because I know you would have beaten Laelia, and if you had have marked her then I would have to throw you overboard and feed you to the sharks." Doflamingo's voice was so serious that Charity could not help but to believe every word that he spoke. "I still need you on my crew, I'm not finished with you yet. You have the best pie and cake that I have ever eaten in my life and I have acquired a taste for it."

"You will grow to be fat if you keep eating them the way that you are." Charity scolded him lightly. She loved baking cakes and she was glad that he and the crew enjoyed them as much as they did. "I like cooking them, but I will have to stop if you gain any weight because then you will be whining at me for making you fat."

"Your poison barbs pierce my heart." Doflamingo said pouting, before once again bursting into his absurd laughter. "Now enough of this, I tire of battling you with wit when I most obviously win every time."

Charity rolled her eyes and kept her itching hands to herself, as she had the sudden urge to push Doflamingo into the sea. That would not be a wise move on her part, because she did not know weather Doflamingo could control people because he was talented, or because he had the ability given to him from a devil fruit. If his ability was from a devil fruit then he would simply just sink to the bottom of the sea bed, and then eventually he would drown. If that happened then it would be her fault and she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself if something bad happened to him because of her foolishness. He had after all been very fair to her while she had been aboard his ship, and had attended to her every need; including the problem that had arose from her connection with Cain.

"Come on let's go and see what the rest of the crew are up to, because I have no doubts that they are getting a lot more constructive things done then what we have been." Charity said wistfully. She had no doubts that most of them would be drunk, there were only a few crew members that had actually been sober in the space of time that the crew had been at the small island. "Though somehow I don't think we are going to find many sober men."

"Of course we won't find many sober men, they are having the time of their lives in this little village and I don't blame them, there is really good grog here. It sits well in the stomach." Doflamingo grinned wolfishly at Charity and slid his arm around her waist, leading her to the destination of the bar.

It took them only a few minutes to reach the small bar that was tightly packed with drunken men and a few very attractive women. As soon as Doflamingo sat down he had two pretty blondes on either side, crooning about his muscles and stroking his smooth handsome face. Charity had to suppress the rising feeling that she now associated with jealousy, she had no right to be envious of the girls that were receiving appraisal from Doflamingo; she did not own him.

Slackening her clenched jaw, Charity noticed that one of Doflamingo's men had a newspaper in front of him. Deciding to pass up the time with something constructive, she grabbed the paper and flicked open to a random page. To her surprise there was a large picture of herself staring unseeingly upwards out of the paper. Underneath the picture was an article, that accompanied the image. Her curiosity aroused, Charity lifted the paper and read the article silently in her head, each word seeming more unbelievable then the last.

_An Unfortunate Death._

_A young woman of the age 20 years, was reported missing only a few weeks previous. Her distraught step father had been on a sail with her, taking her to a nearby island to start a new life after the death of her beloved mother. The trip had been going along well until a large heavy storm had struck their vessel and the brave Charity was thrown overboard after smartly securing her sister to the mast. Her body has never been found and officials have stopped their search, saying that she would most likely be dead, eaten by the many monsters that live inside the Grandline waters. However Cain, her step father, would like to give a request that if anybody finds a body with the following description, please contact any of the Marine headquarters. Charity had long pink hair, and pink eyes. She had an average body type and was not very tall. There will be a reward of ten thousand beli to anyone who finds her body and hands it in so that her family can bury her and finally put her to rest in her rightful place next to her mother._

Dumbfounded Charity read the article over and over again, an overwhelming pain entering her heart. Somehow reading the article seemed to make everything around her seem depressing and too real. She could not bare the pain that seemed to have resurfaced, before she had read the article she had been able to tell herself that maybe Cain felt something for her and would save her instead of killing her once and for all. Now she knew the truth and it hurt to know that she was very much alone in the world.

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Well that's all! Now remember to not be lazy and to review!! And stay tuned for next weeks chapter - Chapter 7: The crumbling walls of Life. Thanks for reading!! 


	7. 7: The crumbling walls of life

A/N: Okay guys, I know that I am a bit late with this chapter, as it was supposed to be up last night, but hehe, I got caught up in reading the last of the seventh Harry Potter book. Anyway, here is the fresh new chapter and I am glad to say that I am starting another fic that I will update every week after this story. So for all the people that loved pirate love, then get ready because I have the sequel to it ready! So I hope you all read Hiding from the Hawk when it comes, Amista is on the loose once again! I'd also like to give special thanks to the people who reviewed for the last capter, in fact both **NicolettaStarr**, and, **hallow santuary** have reviewed every chapter, so thanks heaps for the encouragement guys! ENJOY!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

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The traitorous words seemed to seep from the page as Charity stared at it. Cain had taken out all of the necessary precautions against her, he would stop at nothing to get rid of her and wipe her out of existence. Charity felt the loneliness sink in upon her once again and she could hardly handle it, she wished for a distraction, so that maybe for a minute she could forget the reason she had left her comfy home and was even now regretting her decision. 

It wasn't that Charity didn't like Doflamingo and his men, it was that even though she talked to the pirates on a regular basis she still had no friends. The only crew members she actually had any connection with were Laelia, Bronto and Doflamingo; yet she could not talk to them since one was her enemy and the other two were always so busy.

Staring down at the article once again, Charity felt the on sweep of tears slaughter her tired eyes and she blinked to keep back the streaming torrents that threatened to invade. She cold not let her loneliness crush her like she knew it would so many other women, she was determined to show the world that she was the strong one and that she would never be suppressed.

Turning her head slightly, Charity sighted Doflamingo; he was surrounded by a flock of beautiful young women and looked to be in his element. That was the thing with her Captain, something that she slightly envied. He knew exactly what to say to people with out even breaking a sweat. Sometimes through the time that she had been a member aboard the _Flying Duchess_, Charity wished profusely that she was like the other women, who found such comfort in Doflamingo. She had been so confident on the first night that she had joined him, she had even lied to herself and said that if push came to shove she would sleep with him. But she knew that it was not that simple any longer; she had warmed exceptionally to her captain and she knew that things would soon turn trivial if she became attached. Doflamingo was a dead end road for her, and would only lead to more hurt. He was just like every other avenue in her messed up life.

Sighing Charity ripped the article of herself out of the paper, and violently screwed it up trying to vent some of her pain. She felt betrayed that Cain could put out such an article, when she had no doubt, he knew that she was still alive. The masked figure that she and Doflamingo had seen was one of his soldiers. It would probably be only a matter of time before he sent fully trained Marines after her.

"Why the long face?" Doflamingo asked smirking at his own personal joke. "What has happened in the world that you don't like? Has an orphanage been burnt to the ground and raided?"

"I'm sure that's what you want to have happened. That would make you feel good, wouldn't it?" Charity attacked Doflamingo her voice rising with every syllable, as she became more and more distressed.

"What the hell was in that article?" Doflamingo leaned forward and pulled the paper ball from her hand. She did not protest.

Slowly, with deliberate movements Doflamingo flattened the article once again but Charity did not notice, she was too far gone to even care what he was doing. The fact that she would never obtain her mother's fortune was not what worried her, living forever on a pirate ship with Doflamingo wasn't even what she would call a punishment. She felt as though she had lost her mother all over again because now she could not make herself believe her step father had ever loved her. Now she knew the truth, and she did not like it at all.

Coming back down to reality, Charity watched Doflamingo for a while and she found the atmosphere around her suffocating. Unable to stay seated any longer she stood and rushed out of the bar, heading home to the mother ship where she would not be bothered by company.

She heard lazy footfalls behind her as she near ran down the dark deserted street, but she chose to ignore them relying on the fact that it would probably be a crew member that had followed her; but through her dazed state she had not looked where she was going and she now found that she was lost in the middle of the town. Everything looked different in the dark, and she heard sounds that most probably were created by her mind.

"Are you really stressing that much over this stupid article? Your step father was a dick head, who cares if he is writing stuff like this?" Doflamingo's voice crooned, making her jump in fright and swing around to face him.

"You don't understand! He wants to kill me and take my mother's fortune!" Charity took a step forward and raised her fists. She was so close to him now that she could smell his male scent, a fragrance that made her senses go wild. "I wanted him to love me!"

Charity thumped her fists into Doflamingo's chest and he pulled her into a powerful embrace making her heart pound heavily between her ribs. He said nothing more as he placed his lips against her own, treating her as if she was something delicate that may break if he was too rough.

The kiss was over too soon, but his lips roamed to her neck and his hands slid up the front of her dress to the sensitive place between her thighs. Charity gasped in pleasure and surprise before she leaned into him, and nipped him playfully on the shoulder. She had never had a lover treat her the way he was now, and it led her to believe that there was more to Doflamingo then what he let on.

"Captain!"

At the sound of the intruding voice Charity jumped away just in time to see Laelia walk seductively around the corner, and Charity took the chance to make a quick escape.

"Thank you for your concern Captain, but I am going to call it an early night." Charity said softly, just loud enough for Laelia to hear, before she fled the seen.

It took her a while to find the ship, but she felt that the long walk in the night air had helped to sooth her frazzled nerves. The first thing that she noticed when she boarded was the large barrel of sake sitting on the deck. It was only half full, but Charity didn't care as she poured herself a glass. She had always before avoided alcohol finding that it was a vile drink that turned even the best of people, but she had also heard that it made people feel better when they drank it.

Crinkling her nose and swallowing the liquid, Charity found that it wasn't half bad and she actually liked the taste of it. A warmth had even spread through her limbs, so she decided that she would have another, which soon became four. She staggered slightly as she shot back her fifth drink, and the world around her began to swim as if she was under water. A great idea then came to her mind, and she had to share her happiness with Doflamingo.

Laughing at herself constantly, she made her way back to the bar and floated inside to throw herself at Doflamingo. She giggled when he looked at her curiously, and then she ordered herself another drink, alerting her Captain to her unusual state of being.

"Let's make a toast!" Charity babbled holding her newly acquired cup high in the air. "To the life of the pirate, and letting go of your past!"

"AYE!" The whole tavern shook with the cheers of the crew who then decided that it was now time to party, and broke off into song and dance.

"You know what Don?" Charity giggled curling up in his lap, and looking him straight in the eye. "Do you know the reason that I call you Don?"

Doflamingo watched Charity for a long time, a calculated look in his eye. "Why don't you humour me?"

"Your name is Donquixote Doflamingo!" Charity laughed, unable to contain her glee. She knew that she sounded stupid but she could not seem to help herself the words were falling freely from her mouth. "Isn't that just so cute?"

"If you say so." Doflamingo said coldly, ignoring her.

She tried hard to gain back his attention, but no matter what she done he found his conversation with Bronto and Laelia more interesting than her. He even had the nerve to push her from his lap, and leave her feeling useless and segregated.

As she stared sadly at yet another mug of grog, she felt its effect wearing on her, and she could no longer summon her happiness. She felt like no one in the world cared, even though she knew it wasn't true, she was still swallowed by self pity. She could not hold back her depressing thoughts and without warning she burst into silent tears. Only one person in the whole room even took the time to notice her, though Doflamingo pretended that he had not.

Charity tried to hide her pain, but she could not and the tears soon became loud sobs that shook her body with every shuddering breath that she inhaled. It took her a moment before she realised that she had been lifted into strong arms, that were carrying her towards the bar door. When the cold night air hit her face, Charity felt the shame fill her, though her senses were still distorted and she could not understand her own thought processes.

She could now see that the person that had saved her from severe embarrassment was none other than Doflamingo. Even now while he carried her away, she could not figure him out. She had always thought him to be a harsh individual, yet the way he was acting showed that he had a soft side beneath the hard exterior. As she examined him more closely from beneath her eyelashes, she found that he was seething with an unmaintainable rage.

"What's wrong Don?" Charity whispered, afraid to hear his answer.

Doflamingo stopped dead at the sound of her voice and threw her to the ground, staring down at her. She crawled backwards trying to escape him, but he stopped her with his ability. His voice was ice as he spoke to her through gritted teeth.

"How dare you speak to me the way you did tonight! It's not like you to get yourself drunk, and I can see why! If you ever act like that again, you will truly regret you actions! Now read my lips, I don't like being bombarded by sluts!"

"Oh yeah? I beg to differ!" Charity slurred, her anger raging now. "You always have little sluts hanging off you. And if I remember properly it was you who assaulted me in the alleyway, not the other way around!"

"I did not force myself on to you, and you know it!"

Doflamingo's rage was great now, and Charity slowly started to back away from him once again, knowing even in her intoxicated state, that she had overstepped the boundaries. He was too quick for her however, his speed surprised her as he caught hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him so their faces almost touched.

"It's not like I really had a choice, now let go off my arm!" Charity screeched wrestling herself from his grip. "I'm going back to the ship, and then I am leaving for good. I'm sick of being a pirate!"

"And why are you sick of being a pirate my dear?"

Doflamingo's voice was like honey as she turned away from him, and straightened her dress. She still could not walk in a straight line, and was having trouble remembering what she was thinking.

"Because it's another thing that I suck at isn't it? I can't do anything right, my whole life has been a mistake. My father would never have seen my mother again if she had not been pregnant, and then Cain would not have harassed my family the way that he has!"

Charity's voice broke on her last sentence and she fell to the ground in a pile of heart wrenching sobs. Everything had gone wrong, and she was still alive. She had made so many mistakes, and she felt like an idiot. She had always thought that she was smart and on top of the world, but she had of course been wrong about that.

Doflamingo knelt down next to her, and threaded his fingers through her long pink hair. His voice was soft, all anger gone when he spoke to her next.

"You're a good pirate Charity. I want you to stay aboard my ship." Doflamingo pulled Charity into his arms. "You mean a lot to me and the crew."

"I thought you only wanted me on the crew because you needed another cook. Why are you being so nice to me?" Charity whispered back to him.

It felt odd to see him smile so tenderly at her. He was acting so out of character that she half expected to find that it was someone else wearing a mask. But as she lifted her hand and stroked his face, she did not feel the hardness of plastic, she only felt his smooth skin that made her fingers tingle with an odd sensation. Slowly she moved her face closer to his, and their lips united and he kissed her like he had earlier that night; as if she was something extremely delicate that might break if not handled with caution. Without speaking he lifted her into his arms once again, though this time he took her all the way to the ship, straight into his room. Charity almost thought that he was going to make love to her when he laid her gently on his bed, but instead he turned and left the room.

It was not long before Doflamingo came back into the room however and he handed her a large cup of steaming liquid. Taking it, she found that it was coffee and she peered at him beneath her eyelashes curiously.

"The caffeine will help to make you sober again." Doflamingo explained, taking a mouthful of his own steaming mug. "You will feel better if you drink it."

"Don?"

Charity was uncertain how to continue, but she knew she could not sit on his bed and act as though everything was fine between them. She could not pretend that she had not acted like a first grade skank. Doflamingo nodded at her, encouraging her to go on.

"I am so sorry for embarrassing you like I did. I don't know why I said what I said, it was so stupid but I couldn't think straight."Charity watched Doflamingo with the intent of a hawk watching its prey. "Forgive me?"

"I already did, but if you ever do it again I will kill you."

"You're an ass, you know that?" Charity giggled and pulled the covers over her now shivering body. She was so tired that she could hardly comprehend what would happen to her next, but her sombre mood had been lifted and she felt a lot better than she did half an hour ago.

"I'm kicking you out of your bed." Charity stated as she closed her eyes.

She was so tired, that she fell asleep almost instantly, her vision turning dark and sweet dreams filling her mind. She did not even stir when Doflamingo undressed her and climbed into bed beside her, holding her naked body in a close embrace; his hand stroking her spine gently, and his strong arms keeping her safe.

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Well I hope you liked that chapter! Next week Chapter 8: Confrontations. Anyway remember to read and review!! And stay tuned for next week! 


	8. 8: Confrontations

A/N: Well I have to say that this is the worst chapter that I have written so far in this story. But hey you win some you lose some. I hope it isn't too bad, seeing as I have only made some minor changes, and I hope that anyone reading is still enjoying the story :D

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!!

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Warmth floated through her blood as Charity slowly became conscious of her surroundings. Glancing around the room she could see that she was still within her Captain's quarters. She didn't even hear the steady breathing until the right side of the queen size bed she occupied shifted from the weight of another person. Hesitantly she turned her head so that she looked at Doflamingo's peaceful face. He was still asleep and it was the first time that she had ever seen him without his glasses. Smiling Charity sat up in the bed, letting the sheets fall from the top half of her body.

When the cold air of the room hit her bare chest, Charity realised for the first time that she was devoid of any clothing, courtesy of Donquixote Doflamingo. Huffing she moved to pull the blankets back above her torso, her hand was stopped however by the strong tanned hand of Doflamingo. He smirked up at her, taking his fill of her body without shame. His outright appreciation making her red in the face, and her traitorous heart beating fast with longing.

Quick as lightning Doflamingo moved so that his body was placed above her own. She was surprised to find that he was also already naked, and she couldn't keep back the thought that he somewhat resembled a God. She couldn't believe how much she actually wanted him as her back arched to meet the touch of his soft lips which sent pleasure spiralling through her very core as they touched her heated skin.

No words had been shared between the two of them, but Charity could tell that he had been waiting for this moment for as long as she herself had been. The tension in the room seemed to heighten as she moaned for him to continue, enjoying the sensations that he provoked with his every move. Grinning Doflamingo bent his head and kissed her neck as he coaxed her legs to a position around his waist before he sunk deep inside her igniting an inferno that only he could extinguish.

Charity's stomach coiled tightly as she matched Doflamingo stroke for stroke, aiming to provide him with as much pleasure as he was giving to her. He seemed to sense this as he placed his lips on hers and slowed his pace so that she was nearly begging him to speed up once again. As the feeling in her stomach gathered strength Charity twined her hands around his neck, her nails biting into his flesh. He didn't seem to notice however as he was no longer aware of his surroundings. The pace was no longer slow and relaxed, now it was fast as if the two of them feared that they may not have the chance to experience such intense feeling ever again.

Then Charity hit her peak and the most pure of pleasure spread through her as her body spasmed just seconds before Doflamingo's. They stayed interlocked for a moment to catch their breath before Doflamingo rolled back to his side of the bed, positioning himself so that he leaned on his elbow so that he could watch her for reaction.

Charity smiled and laughed a little, it was one of the few sounds that had erupted through their silent romp. She had been with many lovers before, and she had given them all her body willingly; needing the comfort of another human body. But she had never before felt the sensations that she had experienced in the brief time that she had spent with Doflamingo. He made the rest of her lovers pale in comparison, he had made her feel like she was worth something, and that maybe she was important to him. The other men that she had shared intercourse with had made her feel like a dirty slut who was not worth their affections.

Charity had not noticed that she was crying until Doflamingo's knuckles brushed her cheeks just beneath her eyes. He looked concerned and puzzled as he stared into her eyes, as if he could see what had caused her enough pain to make her cry.

'Was I not up to your standards?'

Doflamingo's voice was harsh and cutting when he spoke, and his tone chilled her to the bone making her weary about how she should continue their conversation. Before she spoke she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, and smiled slightly at him, her tone odd to even her own ears. What was that she could hear in her voice?

'No Don, you were wonderful. More than wonderful, you made me fly higher than I ever have before in my life.'

'Then why are you crying?'

'No reason, I am just full of such intense emotion. I have never felt anything like that ever before. It was beautiful Don.'

Doflamingo smirked hearing the truth in her words, even though they were slightly manipulated. While it was true that she had never felt so loved in her entire life, it was not true that she was crying from overwhelming emotions. It was the fact that she had made such a mistake when she had broken her virginity. If she had have chosen better, then maybe she would have known what it was like to make love to someone, rather than just having sex with them.

Taking her answer as a good thing, Doflamingo climbed out of bed and dressed himself slowly in the cloths that he had discarded the previous night.

'I'll let you have some privacy as you get ready. I believe that you will very much like the place that we are stopping at today. We should be there in two hours, so come up to breakfast in an hour. The two of us will eat in my office alone.'

Doflamingo winked as he headed out the door and left her to her own devices. She felt regret as he left, that she had not made him stay with her for just a little bit longer. Biting her lip she stood up from the bed and walked over to a door that she had only just noticed. It stood proud next to the beautiful mahogany wardrobe that stood in the left corner of the room. She didn't know how she could have missed it the day that she had cleaned his room. But then again, she had also missed the fish tank that was on the right hand side of the room, between the entrance to the room, and the queen size bed.

Curiosity stole over her, and she made her way over to the door no longer caring that she was wearing no clothes, and taking no time to care that there was no sign of the dress she had been wearing the night before. Charity opened the door and peered into the room to find that Doflamingo had an en suite complete with shower and toilet.

Looking to the right as she entered the room, she also saw that there was a bath tub. She filled the tub with steaming water, before also noticing that there was a pink dress, and white fluffy towels waiting for her on a small rack between the white basin and the bath. In the cupboard above the rack was an arrange of beautiful smelling soaps, Charity chose one that was rose scented before stepping into the bath.

As the sweet aroma of roses filled the bathroom, Charity could not suppress the giggle that bubbled in her throat. She felt like a princess in a royal palace getting ready to meet her knight in shining armour. Though she knew that it was the passion from her intimacy with Doflamingo that made her slightly tipsy, she could not stop thinking about the way that he had treated her. As if she was one of the most precious things in the whole world. But as her mind processed more and more thoughts, her mood became overcast. How many other women had Doflamingo treated with such respect? Probably hundreds, she had no doubt that it was the reason that Laelia tried to win his attentions so frequently.

After she had washed, she donned the dress that he had left her, though she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not skimpy. It meshed to her curves and reached her knees. The dress was the same shade of pink as her unusual eyes, and she could not help but think that Doflamingo had chosen it for a reason. She fixed her hair so that it sat atop her head and did not fall into her eyes.

Deeming that she was now ready to meet with Doflamingo for breakfast, she folded the towel that she had used and let the water out of the bath. She then suppressed her nervousness and moved out of the room in the direction of Doflamingo's personal office.

As it was, when she arrived at her destination, breakfast was already waiting for her on the desk in the middle of the room. She was surprised to see that Doflamingo had moved the two person lounge so that it sat in front of the floor to ceiling window on the featured wall of the room. She could see straight out over the ocean through it, and Charity found herself wondering how Doflamingo had been able to get a builder with the skill to make such a window.

'You smell good.' Doflamingo said as Charity approached him.

He looked her up and down with an appreciative gleam in his eyes, before he gestured that she take a seat in front of the large window. He poured the two of them a glass of sparkling wine, before handing her the food and taking a seat beside her. The two of them ate in a comfortable silence, each enjoying the easy companionship.

'So where is it exactly that we will be stopping?' Charity asked breaking the silence.

She could not contain her excitement ever since Doflamingo had hinted that she would enjoy the island that they were about to land at. She could not begin to guess where it was that he would take her, the Grandline was such a large place.

'Well why don't we go and see? We docked half an hour ago while you were still getting ready. I didn't think that we would reach the island so fast.'

Charity grinned at him, her excitement rising with each minute that passed. Though she did find it strange that the window showed nothing of the dock or the island. When she said this to Doflamingo he explained that the window was not facing the island or the dock, it was facing instead out towards the sea. Charity followed Doflamingo through the ship until they were on the deck, and then she looked out at the island before her in a mix of horror and ecstasy.

The town called "pigeon peak" for its abundance in pigeons, stood proudly before her slamming painful memories before her eyes. She could not believe that it had been a whole six months since she had left her home. She had forgotten how much she loved her home, and how much she missed it.

'You like it?'

Doflamingo grinned and threw his arm around her shoulder as she nodded and smiled at him, masking her pain and asking him to walk with her to the distant park. She knew that Cain would not look for her at the park if he happened to find out that she was in the vicinity. Doflamingo walked next to her in silence as they made their way to the park, though she was glad that he did not remove his arm from her shoulders. It gave her comfort to feel the strength of him beside her and she felt courage run through her veins when he was there.

'This is nice.'

Charity rambled as she gazed over the lush green field of the park. It had been her favourite play spot when she had been a child and she had often escaped there when life at home had become too stressful to cope with. The only person in the world who had known that however was Felicity. She had not even shared it with her mother. But Felicity had been one of her closest friends for a long time.

'You think so? I didn't know that you liked this kind of thing.'

Doflamingo stuck his tongue out as charity punched him playfully on the arm. He caught her hand within his own, and she was once again blown away by the amount of strength that just one of his hands held. She then found herself in an uncomfortable situation as Doflamingo pressed closed to her, his hand on the small of her back. She was just about to stand on tip toe and kiss him, when an all too familiar voice rang through the tranquil park.

'Charity! I knew that you were alive! I knew that you would not die so easily!'

Before she could match voice to face, Charity was bound in another tight embrace, one that was this time suffocating and vice like. Her offender pulled back and looked into her face, holding her at arms length and Charity was shocked to see her half sister with tears pouring from her eyes.

'Is this your lover?' Felicity asked as she looked Doflamingo up and down.

She had no doubt seen the intimate embrace that had been shared between Charity and Doflamingo. Charity smiled and hugged her sister again, before becoming serious.

'Listen Flick, it isn't safe for me to talk to you here, okay? I need you to go back home and act as if nothing has happened. And don't, not matter what, tell anyone that I am still alive. You have to keep this secret otherwise you may be proved a liar."

Charity had adopted her most stern expression, and she hoped that her sister would take the hint and realise that Charity was in danger since she did not have the heart to tell Felicity that her father was intent on killing her sister, and best friend.

'Someone is chasing you?' Felicity whispered her eyes wide with fear. 'I won't tell anyone, I promise, I won't even tell Father!'

'Good, now go Flick. When I am out of danger I will come to talk to you okay?'

Felicity nodded and then ran back in the direction from which she had come. Charity could not help but to let out a breath and lean against Doflamingo. Though the man beside her either had little tactics or he just didn't care as he watched Felicity curiously.

'Who was that?'

'That was my half sister, the only real family that I have left since the death of my mother.'

'She's hot.'

'She's too young for you.'

Charity felt jealousy rise within her chest before she checked herself and dismissed the emotion. She had bigger problems to attend to at the moment.

'Don I think that we should leave soon. I don't like this island, so I'm going to wait on the ship.'

Charity told her Captain quietly. He nodded seemingly sensing the emotions that now consumed her since the meeting of her sister. Charity was just about to leave when a shadow fell over her and a cold and demanding voice commanded her attention.

'So it is true, you live.'

As she looked over to the west of the park, her heart stopped and she found herself clutching at Doflamingo's jacket in fear. She could not believe the bad luck that she seemed to have. Just when her life seemed to be getting better, something bad would happen to make her fall.

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A/N: Remember to review, even if you didn't like it. I could really use the feedback since this story doesn't seem to be all that popular and I would really like to know what people think about it, and weather they have any parts of it that they do not understand. Anyway, next weeks chapter is... Chapter 9: All good things come to an end. 


	9. 9: All good things come to an end

A/N: Yes next chapter is finally up, though this one came together a lot quicker. I know that the last chapter was bad, but I assure you it fits into this one, it was more like a filler than anything. Anyway, I hope you like this one, because I really go !!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

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Charity clutched at Doflamingo's jacket in dread as she watched the figure of her worst nightmare. He stood tall and proud as if nothing had changed since the day she had fallen overboard. His lips twitched into a smirk as he saw her reliance on the man beside her, and for the first time since she had joined Doflamingo's crew she had to really look at herself and what she found she didn't like.

When her mother had been alive, Charity had been strong and independent but since joining a pirate's crew she found that she had become weak and scared. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Charity let her hand fall; horrified that she could let herself fall prey to a dark depression. She had not noticed before how much her mother's death had actually affected her, but when she thought back to the day she had fallen overboard, she could see that she was going no where. She had been constantly falling deeper into an oblivious state, where nothing mattered but her own self pity.

Cain stepped forward, and for a minute Charity thought that he was going to say something nice; but then his face screwed into an evil grimace and he spat on the ground beside her as if she was worthless. Charity let her heart grow cold at his action. He had never cared about her, so why should she care about him?

'I thought you would be dead girl.' Cain looked her up and down, not sparing Doflamingo a glance. 'I had heard rumors from a couple of my men, but to tell the truth I really didn't believe them. Who would have known that you would be able to worm yourself out of such a dire situation?'

'I guess I'm just full of surprises. It just goes to show that you don't know me as well as what you thought you did. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, it's deadly.'

Charity glared at her step father. She knew that she was no match for him physically but she could outrun him if he tried to hurt her in any way. Cain laughed however, he seemed to have seen some of Charity's stray thoughts reflected in her eyes. His face was transformed in that moment, and for a minute Charity could see why her mother had fallen for the man in front of her. He was by no means an ugly man, he was actually quite handsome. His tanned skin was in contrast to his short red hair and black eyes, yet they suited his brawny figure.

'I know you well girl. And don't worry, you will get one of those surprises that you love so much.' Cain grinned and brought a mini den den mushi to his lips. He spoke to it in code word and was answered in the same manner alarming Charity, and making sweat slide down her spine as she waited to see the outcome of the call.

'Don, I think that we should high tail it. I don't think we are going to like the outcome of that call for some reason.' Charity whispered to her comrade, her eyes never leaving Cain's. 'I know that look, he is about to do something that you and I are really not going to like.'

'I think that we should hear him out. What could he possibly do that I cannot counter act? Besides you are a strong fighter, if they come at us you will be able to defend yourself. They're only Marines, what harm can they do?'

Charity struggled to fight her irritation when Doflamingo cackled. His head was so full of his own greatness that he could not see the impending danger. Charity however, could see it as plain as day and she did not like it one little bit.

'Listen to me, Donquixote Doflamingo! I know this man in front of us and he is more devious than what you seem to think that he is.' Charity grabbed hold of her Captain's wrist in a movement to further emphasis her point. 'I bet that he knew that we were coming towards this island, he would have looked up the whole background of your crew; not to mention your own!'

'You're one of the most highly strung little biddies that I have ever met, did you know that?' Doflamingo tugged his wrist free of Charity's grip with ease. 'Just relax and take things as they come. There is no reason to stress over something that you will not be able to change is there?'

'Don I just think that-'

Before Charity could continue her argument with her egotistical captain she was cut off by the sounds of many feet marching in time. To her horror Cain had ordered an army of men to back him up and Charity guessed it was not because he was worried about what she would do if it came to a fist fight. Her suspicions were proved right when the marine officers all pointed their guns at Doflamingo, while watching his every move with the intent of a hawk watching its prey.

'I told you that we should have run while we had the chance. We don't have even the slightest chance anymore!' Charity screamed at Doflamingo, who just smirked and flexed his muscles.

'We can take them, there is no problem.' Doflamingo grinned at Charity and she felt her heart do a somersault.

'Just like we talked about it boys! And take the girl quickly before the gas can wear off!'

Cain's voice rang out over the park sending Charity's whole body into overdrive. She grabbed Doflamingo once again to coax him into movement but he pulled her back into his chest. She struggled against him but she was ultimately too slow, and before the two of them could react they were surrounded with a thick white smog. Charity was about to continue running until she felt the strength in Doflamingo's hand fade so that the connection between them was broken as he dropped soundly to the hard and unforgiving ground. Charity let out an earsplitting scream before she was taken hostage by one of the Marine officers.

It was one of the most tragic things that she had ever had to experience as she watched Doflamingo look up at her weakly from his position on the ground. She couldn't understand why he was losing the battle that just moments ago he had been laughing half heartedly about. Had he planned her capture? Or had Cain actually outsmarted Doflamingo and found his one weakness?

'You don't look so smart now do you thug?' Cain directed at Doflamingo who was on the ground, choking on the fumes from the smoke bomb. 'You should have listened to the girl, then maybe you may have had a chance of escape. Unfortunately you will not get out of this trouble so easily now that we have you.'

'What did you do to him?' Charity whispered horrified that Doflamingo had no strength left, not even to stand on his feet and keep his dignity. 'What on earth was in that smoke bomb?'

'You do take after your mother after all, don't you?' Cain asked before laughing like a maniac. 'That was no ordinary smoke bomb. I did my homework on you Doflamingo, and I found something very interesting. Your ability;

'I knew that you had an ability but I only guessed that you are a devil fruit user. I guess it seems that my gamble really payed off. Because guess what? I win.'

'You can't do this Cain! Leave him alone, it's me that you really want so take me and let Doflamingo and his crew go!' Charity screamed in desperation as Doflamingo finally got to his feet. 'Please let them go. You want me not them!'

'Of course I want you! But this crew pays rather high, as they all have very big bounties on their heads. And I'm going to round them all up.' Cain smiled. It was an evil smile, one that sent chills down Charity's spine. 'And guess what? There is nothing you can-'

'FATHER!'

Charity's head snapped around as Felicity's figure strode determinedly into the park. Some of the Marines bowed respectively to her, obviously knowing that she was their bosses daughter. As Felicity stopped in front of Doflamingo, she exchanged a slight glance with Charity, and Charity saw an inner strength in her eyes that had never been their before. But then Felicity was throwing her arm around Doflamingo to help balance him more.

'Father you leave this man, his crew and my sister alone!' Felicity's voice was clear over the confusion of the situation, and Charity felt a clam settle over her. 'I don't care what you think of her company, but Charity is your step daughter and you cannot throw her into prison. Where have your morals gone?'

'Flicky I know that it's upsetting you to know that your sister actually survived the storm, but she has been a very bad girl. It is my job to arrest her, I cannot honestly turn a blind eye and let her get away with her crimes.' Cain's face had softened and he stepped closer to his daughter, who threw her chin into the air and stepped closer to Doflamingo. 'That man that you are trying to help, he is a bad man now step away from him. He will hurt you!'

'I don't care, he is one of Charity's friends and I will not stand here and let you convict my sister. Isn't it enough that mother died? Now you are going to throw one of our family members into prison?' Felicity shook her head, stalling her father's movements. 'I can't take anymore hurt. I thought that my sister was dead, and now I have found that she is alive, only for you to take her away from me again. She told me that she was in trouble and my shock was so great that I thought I was dreaming.

'When I got home I realised that I hadn't been dreaming and I turned and ran back here as fast as I could. But when I got here this is the scene that I walked into! Don't break my heart again father.'

'I'm sorry Flick, now please let that man go and come over here!' Cain's voice had risen in desperation as he tried to coax his daughter away from his enemy; a fact that Doflamingo was quick to catch onto.

'I have an idea...' Doflamingo's voice was filled with satisfaction as he threw his arms around Felicity and pulled her back against his chest. He grinned as Cain's face drained of all blood. 'Let's make a trade, I will give you your daughter in exchange for my cook and the safety of my crew.'

'I can't promise you the safety of Charity, but I can make sure that you and your crew escape this island without a scratch.' Cain smiled. 'That is the fairest trade that I can make, so are you willing to deal?'

'No. I want the safety of my crew; including my cook.' Doflamingo said, tightening his grip visibly around Felicity's neck. 'If you don't give me that, I will snap her neck.'

'Don, you can snap the neck of any of these Marines, but don't you dare snap my sister's neck, if you do you will regret it!' Charity screeched as Felicity started to gasp for breath. She was relieved to see that Doflamingo slackened his hold, though he did not relinquish his stance. 'Take the offer and get the crew out of here.'

'Let me get this straight you want me to let your sister go back to her murderous father, and have you thrown into prison.' Doflamingo smiled a lopsided grin as a silent message played between him and Charity. 'You are a strange woman, but I can understand your dilemma. I'll deal with this situation personally.'

'No Charity don't sacrifice yourself! I don't want you to go to prison!' Felicity's voice sounded feeble in contrast to Doflamingo's deep demanding tone. She sounded weak and innocent and Charity could not help but feel the need to comfort her.

'Sorry Flick, but this is what I have to do. I need to save my crew and make sure that you are looked after aswell.' Charity smiled sadly. 'I know that your father never loved me, but I do know that he loves you and that if you go with him, you won't be harmed

'Are you ready?' Doflamingo asked slyly. 'I would like to exchange my crew's safety for your daughter and my cook. Do you agree?'

'Yes, the deal is accepted. I expect you to be formidable about the swap.' Cain said in a low voice before turning to the officer that was holding Charity. 'Take her away now, and don't let her be a part of the exchange, I would hate for Mr Doflamingo to make the trade go sour.'

'Yes sir!' The marine saluted Cain smartly and dragged Charity off to a large Marine vessel.

The Marine ship was quite spacious, but Charity only had a chance to see the deck and the hall before she was thrown into the brig. As she sat on the floor and stared at the door she was visited by the slight feeling of nostalgia. She could still remember clearly the day she had been thrown into the brig aboard Doflamingo's ship. Back then everything had seemed less complicated, and Charity had been sure of herself and her abilities.

As the hours passed Charity's mind wandered to her brief time spent with Doflamingo. He was an arse to her, yet she could not help but notice that he had a sensitive side; even though he was loath to admit it. He had treated her like a goddess when they had made love, and even though it had been brief, Charity felt as though she could have spent a lifetime with him and it still would not have been enough.

She could still remember clearly what it had felt like to run her hands over his chest that was covered in tightly corded muscle. She could remember how when she slid her tongue over certain areas of his body, his breathing would change slightly; though his pride would keep him from uttering a sound. Then it hit her, and she wished it hadn't.

What if she was in love with him? Would she be that stupid? To fall in love with a person like Doflamingo was basically committing suicide, he was not that easy to get along with.

Charity was about to ponder on this new revelation for a while longer, but at that moment her cell door was flung open, and the Marine officer that had escorted her previously appeared in the doorway.

'I'm here to transport you to your proper cell.'

She could tell that he was new to the job just by the way that he handled her. He was polite and made sure he didn't hurt her. All that would change in a few years, he would become tough and start to enjoy beating up on the prisoners. That's what happened when you had no interesting field work to immerse yourself into, that's what happened to all Marine officers. Without a word Charity followed him blinded, as he had tied a piece of black material around her eyes.

It did not take them long to come to a complete stop, and when they did, the blind fold was torn from her face and she was ushered into her cell from behind. She could not contain an overwhelming satisfaction as the cell door clanged to a shut. Even though she had been thrown into prison she had ultimately saved her crew. And for that she knew her mother would be proud. And Charity would be able to live with her decision for her whole life by just knowing that it would bestow her mother's pride within her.

Smiling sadly, Charity leaned back on the cold stone wall and closed her eyes immersing herself in the darkness. She wondered what Doflamingo would tell the crew and how they would react. Would they even care? Would Bronto be sad when he found out the truth? Would Doflamingo tell him the whole truth, or just part of it? The darkness seemed to make the questions appear in front of her very eyes, until she thought that her head would explode.

'Charity'

Chairty jumped when she heard a familiar voice whisper to her from an unknown location in the cell. She could have sworn that she had heard Bronto's voice, but she quickly dismissed the thought as she could see no sign of her crew mate. She was about to go back to her earlier train of thought but at that moment she heard the voice again, this time it talked for longer.

'Charity, it's me Bronto.' There was a slight pause while Charity strained to hear Bronto's voice once again. 'You're convicted of being Doflamingo's lover. You're sentenced to death, since they think that if they kill you Doflamingo will obey some rules. But don't worry the Captain has a plan, and we are going to get you out of here in no time at all.'

'Bronto, how is the crew. And my sister, what happened to her?' Charity asked back in desperation. 'Please what is going on?'

'Doflamingo never handed her over, but don't worry she settled into the crew perfectly. She is alright, and Doflamingo has been teaching her how to fight.' Bronto's voice had begun to fade when he spoke next, and his words came fast as if he was running out of time. 'Charity I have to go, otherwise I am going to be caught and then I will be no help to you at all. Don't worry too much, we will get you out as soon as we can.'

Charity waited a few more minutes, her ears strained to hear even the most silent of sounds. But after a while she could hear nothing, and she knew that she was finally alone once again. But this time she knew that she would survive, since she had a purpose and a new found strength.

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A/N: Thats all for this week, I hope you enjoyed it because I liked this chapter :D Anyway remember to review and tell me what you think!! 


	10. 10: My Hero

Yes I know that this chapter is very late, but I have an excuse I had big assignments to do for school over the weekend Sorry. Anyway I hope you like the chapter, and remember to review!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

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Charity stared at the cold walls of the cell that surrounded her. She knew that Doflamingo would be there to save her within a matter of days. He was not stupid so she knew that he would not get caught. The thing that made her wonder was the fact that he would even want to save her at all. She had cost him so much and got him into a lot of trouble. If it wasn't for her, then he would still be sitting with his crew in the bar, getting himself drunk and not worrying about jail break outs. It made her wonder why he would go to so much effort just to free her. But then again she was sure that if Bronto had gotten himself locked up, then Doflamingo would come to the rescue. Yet Charity could still not help feeling slightly guilty that she would be to blame if Doflamingo got locked up by the Marines, despite the fact that he ran that risk every single day that he ventured out on the sea. Shaking her head slightly to clear her fuzzy thoughts, Charity thought back to what Bronto had told her. She smiled at the thought that Felicity was now part of Doflamingo's crew. She had to admit she worried about her sister, and the influence that Doflamingo would have on her, since Charity and felicity had been brought up in completely different lifestyles even though they were sisters.

Whereas Felicity was kept at home and raised to be a "Proper lady", Charity was out roaming the streets and robbing the local merchants. Her father had taught her how to be street wise when he had come to visit her regularly when she was a child. He had taught her many useful skills: How to pick locks, how to fight with daggers, how to pick pockets, how to escape in any situation and many other things. When he had stopped visiting, Charity had still roamed the streets hoping to find that maybe he was playing some silly joke on her, and would pop out of one of the stalls carrying bags of goodies. He never did and she never saw him again.

Charity had been angry at her mother when she had agreed to marry Cain. She had seen her mother as a traitor to her father, and the reason that he no longer visited. She would spend weeks at a time on the streets after Cain had moved in, and he didn't seem to care. After she had failed to conform to his way of living he had given her the could shoulder and deemed her to be a bad egg. She had found other things to occupy her mind, and had soon found herself interested in boys. She had been sixteen when she had taken on her first lover, but the affair had not lasted long, since she had her heart broken when she found that his affections did not extend outside the bedroom. After the first affair she had found it easy to get the things she wanted, all as she had to do was give up her body for a night.

One man that had come into her life had proclaimed that he loved her and had taught her how to fight. She had greedily taken his knowledge and had nearly let herself believe that he would be different. He had not been, and once he had become bored of her small hometown he had left her alone once again. After that she had taken to talking with the pirates that frequented the bars. This was not missed by Cain, but Charity chose to ignore his spying, and instead had learnt everything she could about the different types of fighting.

There would always be one boy however that stuck in her mind. She could no longer remember what he had looked like, but she remembered that he had been handsome. He had not asked her for her body, but instead for friendship as his crew stayed in town. He had talked to her about his huge dreams of sailing the world, and becoming famous. He had often sparred with her, and when it was time for him to leave, she had been so upset that she had cried for the whole day. Three days after he and his crew had left, their broken ship and torn bodies had washed up on the shore. Charity could have told herself that he was not dead, and maybe she would have believed it, if she had not seen his body. His eyes dull and unseeing, and his eyes filled with terror.

Without the authorities knowing, Charity had taken his body and buried it. She had been in mourning for a whole year after the incident because despite herself she had fallen in love with the man who had asked nothing of her, yet had given her so much. He had often promised that he would come and take her away from the island, but she knew that was impossible since now he was in an eternal sleep.

When Charity had finally stopped mourning the death of her friend it was to begin mourning for her mother. During her first mourning period, Charity had turned to her mother, and confessed her love. Her mother had been understanding and they had grown close, so her death had been a real shock to Charity. That was why she had taken her mother's advice and decided to make a new life, and in some ways she had.

She had joined Doflamingo's ship, and learned to love the crew as well as the sea. Even though he had a hard time expressing his feelings, and often came over harsh, Charity knew that Doflamingo cared and she knew that she had fallen in love with him. Of course she would never tell him that, it was always better if he didn't know. Besides how would he benefit from knowing? It would just make things aboard the ship uncomfortable. And that was something that Charity could not live with, and besides that Doflamingo would just taunt her and make ridiculous comments about her weak heart.

'Let me in now!'

Cain's voice roared through the cell, and Charity could barely hear the reply of the guard. She wondered how long it would take for him to gain entrance to her. He had such a great impact on the Marines, and he was the leader of her capture: a wanted criminal and member of Doflamingo's crew, one of the most feared men on the sea.

'THAT LITTLE BITCH WILL PAY FOR THE KIDNAP OF MY DAUGHTER!'

'Sir we have been instructed that the criminal is to remain in her cell without any human contact. She is extremely dangerous!'

'I HAVE DEALT WITH WORSE DANGERS THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW, NOW MOVE ASIDE!'

Cain's voice was like thunder and a shiver coursed through Charity's body. He blamed her for the kidnap of Felicity, when really his daughter was having a good time aboard the pirate ship. It was probably a load off her shoulders. Straining her ears, Charity tried to pick up the tell tail sign of footsteps, but there was an odd ringing in her ears. Soon after the conversation that she had overheard, her cell door was slammed open and she was temporarily blinded. Once her eyes had adjusted to the sudden change in light, Charity gazed upon the figure that she knew so well. She was shocked to see that he was barely a former shadow of himself; Cain had newly grown stubble on his chin, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair a mess and his clothes were still torn and bloodstained. Usually he was perfectly groomed, and it unnerved her to see him in such disarray.

'Where is my daughter?' Cain's voice was cold and cutting. 'I know that you are hiding the whereabouts of your stupid little lover.'

'Well he can't be that stupid if he has outsmarted you can he? Though then again that's not a very hard thing to do now is it?'

Cain's eyes glared at her, and for a moment he looked as though he was about to say something. But at the last minute he thought better of it and instead held up a bat that he had strapped to his back. A feral grin spread over his features and he brought the bat down hard to hit her in the stomach and send her flying. Charity knew that he would no longer talk to her as he brought the bat down hard again and again, hitting her with all of his strength. She soon found herself biting through her lip as she fought of the pain and the dreadful urge to scream and cry.

Turning onto her back she watched as the bat came flying through the air towards her once again, and screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain. Nothing happened however and when she opened her eyes, it was to see Doflamingo holding back Cain's arm. He grinned at her and chuckled, pushing her step father into the wall. She couldn't believe her eyes, and at first thought that she had been beaten so hard that her mind was playing tricks on her. But she changed her mind when Doflamingo stepped forward, kneeled next to her, and touched her on the neck to find a pulse.

'What are you doing here pirate scum?!' Cain yelled in fury. 'Come to turn yourself in after your dishonorable trading agreement?'

'You wish!' Doflamingo managed to say through his rambuncous chuckles. 'As if I would come in here to get captured, I have come here to save my crew member.'

Charity stared at Doflamingo, trying to figure out weather he was telling the truth or not. She could not make sense of his appearance. He had taken no precaution, and had not been refused entry by the guards as Cain had. Of course he could have taken control of them so that they couldn't do anything about him, but they still would have been able to call out.

'Is that so? Come to take your stupid whore of a lover? Do you know what she used to do when she was younger?'

Doflamingo grinned and a spark came into his eye. 'She gave her body to young men so that they would teach her to fight. I already know this, she was on the fantasy list of all pirates my age.'

Charity felt herself go red. She had not thought that she would have been well known, she had only done it to get what she wanted no matter how much it had hurt her. Then again it had been mostly a pleasurable trade for both her and her partner, it was just an added bonus that she got to learn to become a skilled fighter in the process.

'I would like to think that it is because she is a slut, but I happen to know that she was not like that when she was younger. So I think that I will blame you for it.' Doflamingo grinned at Cain, who's face had turned red with anger.

'I tried to school that stupid bitch and she instead chose to steal and play with daggers. She was such a bad influence to my Flicky!'

'Well your "Flicky" is having the time of her life on the sea. Of course I haven't let her have alcohol yet.'

'That's mature.' Charity said rolling her eyes. She could only begin to imagine what Doflamingo had let her actually do, and none of them would be as tame as drinking the intoxicating drink.

'I was waiting for you to give the OK.' Doflamingo pouted, making Charity shake her head slightly, a small smile etched to her lips.

'It doesn't matter now anyway, because the two of you are not leaving this cell and I will hunt down your crew, and find my little angel!'

'Too bad for you that you have no authority to arrest me old man.' Doflamingo chuckled and stood up. He then pulled an official looking piece of paper from a pocket inside his jacket and held it up, before reading it aloud. 'Doflamingo is hereby excused of any criminal activity. He must turn down his position as Captain and take the new one of Shichibukai. In exchange for this agreement we have allowed him to take the female prisoner Charity as they are formal lovers. Signed WG.'

Charity's eyes widened and then filled with tears once Doflamingo had read the document. Mustering her strength she threw herself on him and hugged him around the neck before pressing her lips hard to his own. When they pulled apart Doflamingo looked down at her with a satisfied smirk gracing his features. Charity couldn't help but to be happy, Doflamingo had once confided in her that he would never join the World Government even if he was paid to. It touched her that he would join his enemy just so he could free her from prison and a trail that would condemn her to death.

Cain stood still, not moving. He stared at Doflamingo his face white, but he did not say anything else. Taking this as a dismissal, Doflamingo lifted Charity bridal style into his arms. She had used all of her remaining energy to jump on him, so she was relieved to be able to just lean on him and use his strength to carry on through the grey stone halls of the prison.

'Thanks.' Charity's voice was barely a whisper but she knew that he had heard her. He smiled and quickened his pace, and the two of them were soon emerging into the bright light of sunshine.

Breathing in, Charity felt that the air was a lot cleaner near the surface than what it had been when she was locked in the cell. She had not thought that she would ever see the world again, but somehow she still did not regret her actions. She had been brave and she would have made her mother proud, so if she had the choice, she would do the same thing over again just so she knew that her crew was safe.

Charity saw the ship come into view, and her heart beat painfully in her chest. She had not thought that she would ever miss it, but before she knew it, the boat had become a home. Doflamingo carried her on deck, and when she made her appearance the whole crew, including Laelia, cheered for the return of their crew mate and Captain. Doflamingo however did not let them see her for long as he whisked her away to the infirmary where she was greeted by the ships doctor to be examined.

The doctor said that she was quite lucky she had reacted the way she had by curling into a ball. Most of the blows had hit her back and only the damage of torn skin had been made.

'The tears will pain you for a while, so I will put you on pain killers. I would also like you to come back everyday and night, so that I can treat your wounds and prevent infection and scarring.' The doctor smiled at her and handed Charity a glass of water and two pills.

Doflamingo had left her alone to be examined, but as the doctor also took her leave Charity wished that she had someone to talk to. As if answering her prayers the door opened, and for a minute Charity thought that it would be Doflamingo. She was mistaken as, holding a bundle of flowers, Felicity walked over to her bedside. Felicity's eyes were filled with unshed tears and explanations, but before Charity could open her mouth to speak, Felicity had put the flowers down and hugged her around the neck.

'My father, I knew that he was rotten, but I didn't think that he would ever harm you so! I heard all about the abuse that you received from his hand because I have been missing, I'm so sorry!'

'That's alright Flick, don't worry about it. So how did you get yourself aboard this ship?'

'I asked Mr Doflamingo to take me with him. They had not left the town, and he made it look like a kidnapping. But he won't let me do much, like fight. Whenever we were attacked he would lock me downstairs saying that he rather not be skinned alive by you.'

'And he was very wise for making that choice.' Charity said lowly as she saw Doflamingo materialize from the infirmary door. 'Fighting is not the glorious thing that it is perceived as.'

'Yeah I know, I would probably faint at the sight of blood.' Felicity rolled her eyes. 'I just want you to know that I am stronger than you seem to think.'

'I know that.' Charity smiled and tried to stifle a yawn, suddenly feeling very tired.

'I think that it's time Charity was left alone.' Doflamingo said to Felicity, who had not noticed his presence.

There was still a slither of fear in Felicity of the Pirate Captain before her, and it showed as she saluted him, hugged Charity one last time, and scuttled from the room. Leaving Doflamingo and Charity alone.

'You should get some rest.' Doflamingo said, as he turned to follow Felicity.

Charity felt fear fill her at the thought of being alone and waking to find everything was just a stupid dream, so she called out to him. When he turned around with an expectant look on his face her voice froze for a moment, but then she could continue.

'Will you stay with me?'

Charity's voice came out so softly that she was scared he might not have heard. Doflamingo chuckled however and laid in the bed beside her, his strong arms keeping her safe from the terrors that threatened to consume her through sleep.

A/N: There you go, I hope you liked it. Please review!! Next chapter is Chapter 11: Havoc


	11. 11: Havoc

Havoc

A/N: Well I know that it has been a long time since I have updated this story, but when I started it, I made a promise to actually finish it, so I will be trying to finish it, as well as doing school, and my other story Dime in a Dozen. Though updates may be slow during November, seeing as I am entering NaNoWriMo, and I am writing an original story for it. But I will try my hardest, and seeing as I love writing, it hopefully won't be too difficult.

I do not own One Piece.

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'I'm leaving you in charge of the ship as Captain.' Doflamingo said in a clear loud voice so that the whole crew could hear him. 'After watching the crew closely I feel that you are the best for this position.'

Charity had stared at him as if he was crazy. She had thought that he would have chosen Bellamy who was his First mate, and was more better equip for the job. He had after all been preparing to take over the ship ever since he had heard that Doflamingo had accepted a position as Shichibukai, and would need to leave the crew. She had watched him and bitterly thought about the bland weeks that were to come. Eventhough Doflamingo was leaving, Charity still had a contract to serve under the rule of the Captain of the ship. And she had found Bellamy reading over it through the dead of night. She knew that he wanted her to stay aboard the vessel so that he could torture her very slowly. It would give him great pleasure.

That was why she had been so surprised when Doflamingo had given her the role of Captain. She was just a contracted reel in, who had basically no rights aboard the ship, and she could see that the rest of the crew knew this as well. They gave her dirty looks and whispered behind her back. They felt ripped off that she had been put into the position of Captain instead of Bellamy, Doflamingo's trusted first mate. The only friend that she had was Bronto, who had not stayed aboard the ship, since he had gone with Doflamingo to advise him with his new island. And she hardly had any time alone with Felicity anymore, seeing as her sister had made friends with the crew, and was often taken into conversations. Charity was beginning to wish that she had died in prison. But thoughts like that would not get her through and would lose the respect of her mother, and love. She would have to be strong if she was to survive this ordeal and prove herself once again, and she was no weakling. She would not give in so easily, even if Bellamy was trying to make her break every single day. Though she wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of a mutany.

Sighing Charity sat at the large desk in her office. It was strange to think of it as her office, the room that she had spent many mornings with Doflamingo. The room that she had first met him, and had challenged him by laying her life on the line. It was the room that everything had started in and it gave her comfort to sit and watch the ocean from the large window. Sometimes she would wonder what Doflamingo was doing, and if Bronto was all right. Checking the map, she could see the small island that marked Jaya.

For weeks she had been wondering if she should dock at the town and have a look at Doflamingo's home. But no matter how hard she tried she could not figure out a good enough excuse to dock there. Doflamingo would know that she still looked to him for guidance, and relied on him. If he knew, he would never let her live it down, and would make sure the whole crew knew of her insecurities. If they knew that she was not a strong leader, then everything would be worse for her aboard the ship.

She had thought about turning down the position and giving it to Bellamy, but that would mean that she was no longer a free woman, and that she had proved to Doflamingo that she could not handle anything that was thrown her way. It would be far better for her if she just sat it out and dealt with things as they appeared in front of her.

Picking up the bracelet that her mother had given her, she stored it in the desks draw. The clasp had come loose and it had began to fall off so instead of risking having it lost forever, Charity left it where it could not be found by any other than herself. Of course it reminded her of Felicity, and the way her sister used to be before she was part of the crew. She used to be such a gentle and innocent girl, now since Doflamingo had left the crew she had become slightly wild and a complete slut. She listened to nothing that Charity said, and was becoming closer to the crew each day. To Charity's horror, Bellamy had gotten his claws into Felicity, and her younger half sister had become infactuated with him, seeing him as an angel who could do no wrong.

Charity knew that Felicity's strange rebellious attitude was caused by the lack of a dominant male figure in her life. Before Doflamingo had left the ship, Felicity had shown him respect and fear; obeying his every word without question. Since Charity wasn't as hard on her as Cain or Doflamingo had been, Felicity had taken to disobeying her every action which left Charity in a constantly bad mood.

'Captain the ship is being attacked by enemy pirates!'

Charity watched the young pirate for a while before leaving her desk and making her way to the deck of the ship. When she reached the deck, everything was in dissaray. People were running everywhere, and the ship rocked with the blows of cannon fire. Spotting Felicity Charity grabbed her by the shoulder.

'Below deck.' Charity's voice left no room for debate, a fact that Felicity seemed to not pick up on.

'You're not the boss of me, and I won't listen to you. You will never be able to take the place of Doflamingo eventhough you are trying to. Stop pretending that he loves you. That is just a fantasy.'

Something inside of Charity seemed to instantly snap, and Felicity finally realised that she had overstepped the mark. Charity smiled coldly at her little sister. 'Fine see if I care what happens to you!'

Turning on her heal, Charity pulled a dagger from her pants and ran one of her attackers through, right in front of Felicity who fell to the deck in horror. Charity didn't care, and had only one thought in her head. To teach her rebellious sister a lesson about who on the ship was boss. Charity ignored her sister's screaming pleas to stop the fighting and ploughed on through the thick mass of bodies. It took only half an hour and by the end Charity's pent up frustrations were leaving her system.

Looking down, her eyes conneted with Felicity's, but she no longer felt sorry for the girl. Charity had to live in worse conditions when she was younger and she had turned out alright. It would do Felicity some good if she saw the dangers of the world. From now on Charity was going to take comand of the crew and quit pussy footing around.

'Suck it up. It will do you good to see what the men and women of this ship go through every single day. I warned you, but there is to be no more second chances and I don't care who tries to undermine my authority because they will be punished.'

'You think that you have the power to punish us?' Bellamy asked slyly, walking towards her with a smirk on his face. 'We have been running this ship for three weeks while you have sat in your office moping. You will never fill Doflamingo's shoes.'

'You dare to defy me?'

'So what if I am, it's not like you are going to be able to do anything about it you stupid whore!'

Letting her anger take control, Charity unsheithed her dagger and held it to Bellamy's chest. He smirked and went to move but she pushed him into the wall, conviently blocking any other moves that he may attempt to make.

'You think that you are so strong.' Charity pushed the dagger closer to him, and he stared at her with wild eyes, hardly able to believe the change that had overcome her. 'I am sick to death of you and your little tantrum at not being picked for Captain. I have one thing to say. Get over it!

'Let this be an example to you all.' Charity dropped Bellamy who slunk into the crowd that had gathered around her. 'I will not let you get away with this any longer. Things aboard this vessel are going to change. From now on you will treat me and your fellow crew mates with respect. I am your Captain now, and everyone will agree, or be punished.'

The crew stared on in silence and then broke out into loud cheers. Charity smiled, and then ordered the grog to be passed around in memory of the victory they had just recieved.

The party lasted for hours into the night and Charity found that the crew had gained a loyalty and respect for her that was once not there. She shared stories of her childhood with them, and listened to the horrors of their past. Bellamy even included himself, though he still didn't like her, he had accepted that she was the leader and there was nothing that he could do about it. It made for a happier time on the vessel, and Charity didn't even mind when the loud drunken singing started.

What did concern her however was the fact that Felicity had all of a sudden become missing. Charity thought that maybe she had gone to bed, but then she noticed that one of the rookie pirates was also missing from the deck. Her senses on alert, Charity walked around the deck saying goodnight to all of her crew, before she ventured down into the hall.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Charity opened all of the doors as she walked towards the Captain's quarters. The last room that she checked was occupied by none other than the two missing crew mates. Charity had opened the door silently so the two of them had not picked up on her presence and the scene before her made her roll her eyes.

Felicity and the rookie were both naked and looking very uncomfortable and akward. Shaking her head, Charity closed the door and left them alone. She didn't want to embarrass them, and besides what they did in their personal life, was not her business. She had lost her vaginity way before Felicity had, so she could not scold her.

Silently she walked back into her office and sat down. Closing her eyes, she thought of the relationship that she had shared with Doflamingo. The first time they had made love was the only time that they had spent time alone. Charity could remember the feelings that had coursed through her body as she had sat in the bath afterwards. She had felt like a goddess sitting a bath filled with sweet smelling perfumes. And then sitting in the office eating breakfast with him, and generally clowning around. He reminded her of the friend that she had lost when she was younger. He asked for nothing yet he gave her so much, and made her happy. It was no wonder that she had gained such deep feelings for him.

Opening her eyes once again Charity turned in her seat to come face to face with none other than Bellamy. He was smirking, obviously thinking that he had caught her in the midst of falling apart.

'Can I help you at all Bellamy?'

'Why do you want this position so much? You know that you cannot handle it as well as what I can.' Bellamy grinned and for the first time, Charity became aware of another presence within the room. She pretended to ignore it, seeing as Bellamy hadn't picked up on it yet. 'The crew only respect you because you said a few choice words, we both know that I could have freed myself if I had wanted to.'

'Really? Then why didn't you?' Charity raised an eyebrow, and waited for Bellamy to reply, when he did not she continued. 'I had you pinned to that wall, and you could not move. I was not just putting on some little show, I was being matter of fact. If you try to over rule my judgment again, then I will make good on my threat and you will never do it again. Trust me.'

'You have no control over this crew so you dare to take over them with fear?'

'It worked well for Doflamingo, and don't tell me that you are not scared of him because me and Bronto were the only people that ever had the guts to be his friend. Probably the reason that he chose me to Captain his crew.'

'If that was true then he must not like you as much as he likes Bronto. You stayed on the ship, while Bronto went with him to Jaya. That is something else I noticed...' Bellamy grinned. '... We have been sailing near Jaya for the past three weeks, you're not starting to regret the Captain's choice are you?'

'Of course not, and I am your Captain now, not Doflamingo.' Charity raised her chin. 'You will respect me until circumstances are changed. I don't care if you don't like me, but if you go up against me, I will make your time aboard this vessel a missery.'

'You know I didn't think you actually had any charm.' Bellamy grinned. 'But you do. I will not go against you, but I will be seeing Doflamingo so that I can secure myself as Captain. And when I do, you will be under contract once again.'

'I hate to tell you this Bellamy, but I still am under contract to Doflamingo. I promised him my life, not you.' Charity smiled at him sweetly and supported her chin with her hands; elbows digging into the desk. 'Even if you come into power, I don't have to do what you say. I only have to listen to Doflamingo.'

It was a long shot Charity knew, but she could see no other way to get Bellamy off her case. She knew that she had a contract, but if it was for the Captain of the ship, then if Bellamy came into power, she would be in a lot of trouble. But how else was she supposed to get rid of the pest and cut him down to size?

'Is that why you were sleeping with him? So that you could redeme your sentence?'

Bellamy's words cut into her like the harsh metal of a dagger. Yet he had no notion of her hurt, since she hid her feelings well as she stood. 'That is my personal life. Now thank you for your concerns, so why don't you go back to the party?'

Recognising a dissmissal when he heard one, Bellamy mockingly saluted her and left the room.

'You can come out. I know that you are in here.'

'You have always been quite sharp.' Bronto said coming into view. He looked much younger and was smiling at her. 'You handled that situation well. And I must say Doflamingo is quite impressed by the way you handled the crew earlier.'

'Is he now? I take it that the two of you have been spying on me?' Charity said walking foward to embrace her old friend. 'I missed you so much, you won't believe how lonely it is on this ship without you and Doflamingo.'

'And here I was thinking that you would be having the time of your life.' Bronto smiled and sat down in one of the arm chairs in the room. 'Doflamingo has missed you. All he does is mope around the hotel, and when we saw the ship he came home to watch what you were doing.'

'You mean he has been living here the whole time without me knowing?' Charity asked in amazment. She had wondered why her room had fresh flowers in it every morning.

'Yes he found it amusing to leave you little gifts and watch you try to figure it out. Of course only he would come up with such a strange idea.'

Charity grinned and then stiffled a yawn. 'That sounds great Bronto, do you need a bed?'

'No I'm fine. But you should go to bed, it is very late and we can talk more in the morning.'

Charity agreed and made her sleepy way towards her room. She felt her stomach squirm in anticipation as she opened her bedroom door. By the tone in Bronto's voice she had been able to come to the conclusion that Doflamingo would be with her in the morning.

Smiling she flicked on her light, and undressed to her underwear. She had given up sleeping in pyjamas since the grandline weather conditions had turned hot and she preferred to sleep in the night. Just as she was about to climb into the queen size bed, she was tackled by a heavy force and thrown into the covers.

Her heart stopped dead when she found herself unable to move, or even utter a scream. Could this be Bellamy come to get his vengance on her? Would she die right here and now, or just be utterly humiliated? Not wishing to find out, Charity squirmed as much as she could, but the person above her was too strong. After a few minutes she let her body go floppy and still, wating for her life to end with at least a small particle of dignity.

Feeling her submission the person holding her down chuckled slightly, and she thought that she recognised the laugh. She knew that it was a man, as his strength was too great for a woman. After she had worked out her aggressors gender, it did not surprise her when she felt hot lips on her neck and strong hands gripping her waist. Panic rose within her, but she promised herself to be strong.


	12. 12: Don't kill me!

Don't kill me

A/N: Only eight more chapters to go. So I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did while writing it.

I do not own One Piece.

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Charity cried out, trying to alert someone in the crew of her dilemma. Her body had long gone hot and limp, and her captor seemed to have noted this as he chuckled against the skin on the back of her neck. She tried to raise her arm in the hopes of hitting him in the groin, but a firm pressure from his large, strong hands kept her pinned to the bed; unable to move.

The man holding Charity to the bed grinned. His legs held her body at the waist, and his hands had her wrists pushed deep into the mattress. His mouth travelled from her neck to her bare shoulder, his tongue licking the skin lightly as he went. And then suddenly, as if he was bored with his little game, he jumped back, giving Charity the freedom of movement.

Wasting no time, Charity jumped from the bed, and grabbed the medium sized dagger that she kept hiding beneath her pillow. She had decided to leave it there after Doflamingo had appointed her as Captain. Clutching at the gem stone decorated hilt, she pivoted on the spot, and swung the blade through the air. She aimed her weapon at where she thought her attackers chest to be.

Her aggressor laughed, and stopped her attack mid way. 'I do not think that you really want to do that sweetheart. If you do, you might regret your decision.' Doflamingo smirked at the aghast look upon Charity's face. He easily pulled the dagger from her now limp fingers, and carelessly threw it to the ground more intent on taking his true goal. 'I have to admit, you did not make it easy for me to take you out, but you were not very cautious either. You should have recognised my presence as soon as you entered the room. Instead you were day dreaming, because you figured out Bronto was back aboard the ship. You have looked towards him as someone that you could rely on ever since you joined the crew, and when he returned, you reverted to your old ways. That is not a very good idea for a Captain now, is it?'

'Oh, and you're one to talk!' Charity exploded. She moved forward and jabbed a finger at Doflamingo's chest as anger overwhelmed her. 'You lecture me about being cautious, yet when you were Captain you thought that you were so invincible, that you didn't have to worry about what other people were doing! It's been proved that you are not invincible Don. Remember that Cain took you down in a matter of minutes. If he could do it, then so can someone else.' Charity took a deep shuddering breath, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. 'And where do you get off, coming in here unannounced and attacking me? What gives you the right to scare me to death, as well as sexually assault me?!'

Doflamingo chuckled adamantly, and closed the remaining space between them. He threaded his arms around her waist, and bent his head to kiss her affectionately on the neck. 'I have missed you. You are such a strange woman, and I never thought that I would miss that exorbitant ass of yours, but I did.'

Charity shivered at the feel of his soft lips against the heated skin of her neck. She leaned forward into his chest, succumbing to his charm. 'I never realised how hard your job actually was. None of the crew like me, and Felicity is running wild; I don't know what to do.' Hot tears ran down Charity's cheeks. 'I don't know how you kept everyone in line so easily. I am trying so hard, yet I live in constant tension, and I don't like it Don!'

'You were doing such a bad job until tonight as well.' Doflamingo laughed. He gripped her chin, and forced her to look up at him. 'I don't think that you should worry too much. You will not have so much stress tomorrow, everything will be fixed.' His eyes twinkled with a strange light, as he pressed his lips to Charity's. Ending the brief kiss, he placed his lips to her eyes, kissing away the tears, and then rested his mouth on her forehead. 'You will be much happier tomorrow. You do not work well under tension. As for Felicity, I will deal with her, but I would like you to know that she was trying to seduce one of the rookies. I really think they will pull it off once they strip.'

'Don, if you are trying to shock me with the fact that Felicity is having sex with one of the rookies of this ship, then you have failed. I already know what they are doing, but I am choosing to ignore it.' Charity gave him a wobbly smile. 'I mean at this age I had already had sex, and I was basically giving my body away for information, training in martial arts, and money.' She stared at one of the walls in the room. 'It wasn't the best thing for me to be doing, but how can I possibly stop her from making the same mistakes that I did? She would only hate me for being such a hypocrite.'

'This is true, but that does not mean you should let her become a slut. You made those mistakes and you should lay down your law. You always let people walk over the top of you. That is why you are weak.' Doflamingo told her harshly. 'You cannot walk through life and let people push you around the way they do. You have to be the one who pushes them around. Besides it is much more fun that way.' Doflamingo chuckled. He pushed her back on the bed so that she was beneath him. 'Now I am here to get my prize. I have been waiting for so long, and you didn't even notice that I had been sleeping with you of a night time. You just snuggled close, and slept right through the night.'

'I noticed that I had been getting better night sleeps the last couple of days. I am guessing that is when you first arrived aboard this vessel.' She smiled and ran her fingertips up and down his powerful forearms. 'I just thought that I had finally become comfortable with being in charge of this ship. It was very strange for me. I have never been the head of something before.'

'Why do you always refer to your vessel as this ship? It is your ship now, you are the Captain.' Doflamingo said quizzically sitting on the bed beside her. He trailed his finger between her breasts, grinning in glee when her breath caught in her throat. 'That is another of your failings as Captain. You need to be confident to man a crew. If you are not sure of yourself, then your men will pick up on it, and they will condemn you for it. Just like Bellamy did to you. You should really give more speeches the way that you did tonight. It was quite impressive.'

'I was just angry.' Charity gasped as Doflamingo's wandering finger slid beneath the material of her bra, and stroked the hard pink bud that it found there. She arched her back slightly, her eyes half closed. 'I did not rehearse that speech. And I do not refer to myself as Captain because it just seems so strange to do so. I have always thought as you being Captain, and now that you are gone, it seems stupid to think of myself as the head of this crew. I did not get them together. I am more of an intruder then anything else.' Charity's words came fast as Doflamingo started on the other breast and it became harder for her to breath.

'Then why don't you just give up on the position then? You have a contract to me, but that does not mean that you have to take the position of Captain aboard this ship for me.' Doflamingo traced her face with his free hand before bending down and placing a lingering kiss on her lips. 'You do not need to impress me. I already know what you are capable of. If this job is too hard for you to cope with, then I will accept your resignation.'

Charity snapped back to reality, her radiant pink eyes snapping open. She sat up and glared at him. 'I can handle this. It may seem like this whole thing is going wrong, but I can handle the challenge. I will see it through, and I will make you proud to call this crew yours. I will not give up.' She raised her chin in defiance. 'I never give up on anything, and I think that by now you should know this. I have been through a lot for you, and you have rewarded me with this position. I will not falter from it!'

'I know that you won't give up. And that is why I am telling you to. This job does not suit you. You are only trying so hard because you are trying to prove something to me. Now I don't know what this something is, and to tell the truth, I don't actually care. But I want you off this position. You are not doing the crew any good, especially when you sail around Jaya for weeks on end. It is evident that your mind is not on your task.' Doflamingo held her secure to the spot by gripping her shoulders tightly. 'That is why I am here. I came to see why you were lingering around my island, and when I came aboard Bellamy told me that you were love sick. So I decided to come and check the circumstances out.' Doflamingo pulled something out of his pants pocket, and held up what looked to be a flag. It had a grinning face in the middle of a circle. The face had been crossed out with a thick line. 'I found that you have been disgracing my symbol.'

Fear shot through Charity so that she felt as though she had been struck by lightening. Her body began to quiver as she stared at the sign that hung as the ships Jolly Roger. The very trademark symbol of Donquixote Doflamingo. 'I-I have been trying my best!' Charity stuttered trying to pull out of his grasp. 'I-I d-didn't mean to disgrace your name Don! I swear!' Perspiration beaded her body, and she felt panic begin to grip her as she thought about all the punishments he could put her through.

'Usually such a sin is punishable by only death.' Doflamingo said menacingly. 'And usually I would have someone who loves you, kill you. Say like Felicity.' He watched her reaction with the air of a hungry predator. 'But with you, I have decided to punish you in a different way. You will be stripped of your title aboard this ship, and you will come to Jaya to be my servant. Felicity will come too, since I do not want such a promiscuous woman aboard my ship.' He smiled crookedly. 'Like you said she is a lot better when she is around me. I distil respect.'

Charity stared at him in horror. 'How can you possibly do that?!' Tears once again flooded from her eyes. 'You come in here and seduce me. You make me weak at the knees, and then you tell me that you are going to punish me.' She heaved in oxygen, afraid to pause for too long. 'What are you going to make me do? Act out your little fantasies? You sick fuck!'

Doflamingo giggled at her. 'You already do what I want you to do. But I meant more like sleeping in my bed, and satisfying me whenever I want you to.' Doflamingo pulled her in to straddle him. His hands rested on her buttocks, and he placed kisses along her collar bone. 'You are in contract to me, I own you. And besides, it is not only pleasure for me. I will make sure that you feel everything that I do. I will not leave you out. You know from experience that I treat you well in the bed.'

'Yet you treat me as some kind of pet that you own.' Before she could think, her hand flew out of no where and struck him across the face. 'You are such a loathful bastard! I will not do any of that for you.' Charity's voice broke, and she tried to push herself off him, but he pulled her closer, not letting the contact between them break. 'I can't believe that I ever trusted you!'

'You will do as I say.' Doflamingo said, his voice holding a noticeable threat. 'I will not force you when you do not want to. I am not going to say that you have to satisfy me sexually every night. But I want you to do things for me that have absolutely no connection to the ship, or crew. It will have nothing to do with my work at Jaya even.' He kissed her again, but this time hard, with a lot of meaning. 'I want you to do things for me that I would not ask of any other woman.'

'Can you give me an example?' Charity whispered her body stiff. 'So that I at least know what I am up against. I mean I have to be prepared for the future in all circumstances.'

'The most simple is to sleep in the same bed as me of a night.' Doflamingo said against her lips. 'But I will not tell you everything. You will have to find out when you come to Jaya with me. I will even let you chose the room that we both sleep in if you want.'

Charity sighed and provocatively ran her tongue along his lips. 'And what about Felicity, you will not punish her will you? She has not really done anything wrong. The only thing she has been doing is disagreeing with me on every issue that comes up.' Smiling she deepened the kiss, letting his tongue wage a silent war with hers. She threaded her fingers through his hair, amazed at his ability to quieten any fears that she had. He had a strange calming effect on her that no one else in the world did. That was why she loved him. 'If she is going to be fine, and in one piece then I will come with you to Jaya.'

Doflamingo did not answer as he unclasped the hook of her bra, and pulled her panties down her legs and around her ankles. He discarded her garments on the bedroom floor. His mouth covered hers, and kept her from uttering another word. His hands roamed her body, letting her discard his own attire. Grinning wickedly, he placed his lips against her ear. 'Let's not talk.'

Charity nodded, and let her thoughts leave her mind. Half an hour later, she had regained her breath and was lying contentedly against Doflamingo's chest. She sighed and kissed his shoulder. 'I guess that you were right about the whole stress thing.' She admitted. 'I am not very good for this job. I have never been the leader of anything. I have only ever worked for myself, and it is hard to please so many people at a time. I don't know how you handled it!'

'I did not try to please any of them.' Doflamingo cackled. He pulled the heavy blankets up to cover the two of them, and brought Charity closer. 'I just did whatever I wanted to do. I never once thought about how it affected them. That is another area in which you went wrong. You cared for them, and thought that if you did then they would care for you as well in due time.'

'You sure like to point out my bad points don't you?' Charity said indignantly. 'I did a lot of things wrong, but you do not have to rub it in. You have not been all that good your whole life Don.'

Doflamingo grinned and kissed her. 'That is what I do. I point out your failure so that you can work on them. And you have a lot of work to do on the way that you run a crew.' He smiled at her. 'But right now you are exhausted, and you should sleep. You have a big day ahead of you, since we have to change over your ranking and then you have to come to Jaya with me. Then you can make yourself comfortable within my new establishment, and when you are ready, I will show you what I am doing with the island and you can take charge of the paper work. My secretary is hopeless.'

'You're not sleeping with her are you?' Charity asked uncertainly. She could not bare to think that he looked at any other woman than her. She hated the jealousy that he instilled in her, but she could not help it. Her hackles went up every time she heard that he was with another woman. Images of them together would then seep into her minds eye until she became paranoid. She knew it was stupid, seeing as he had not promised her anything, but for some reason it just seemed right that she should be worried when he was with women that were not her. 'I mean you don't have to tell me, but it would be good to know before I arrive at Jaya and find out first hand. I wouldn't want to intrude.'

'I think that you very much would like to intrude.' Doflamingo said, a devilish flicker passing through his eyes. 'But no, I am not sleeping with her. She is blonde. And her ass is just not as voluminous. So unfortunately for you, I am stuck here relying on you, because my secretary does not fit the guidelines.'

Charity's cheeks turned red. 'You are a real dick you know.' Her eyes twinkled in amusement at his usual banter. Her mood had just been raised, even though he had basically told her she had a fat butt. He had also told her without words that she was the only woman he had been sleeping with. 'Well, I hope that Jaya is not as stressful as here. Though it will be kind of sad not being on the sea anymore. I had become happy living on the ocean, and I have found that I am quite fond of it.'

'I will take you sailing whenever you want to get off the land. I also love the sea, and miss it. Living on the land is not as fun as it sounds.'

Charity grinned. Snuggling closer to him, she let her eyes close and her head fill with beautiful dreams. Now all as she had to do was to tell the crew that she was being forced to step down, and Bellamy was taking over. They would be happy then, and she would no longer be pulling her hair out. Doflamingo had all the answers. He was the only person that could pick out her most inner feelings and thoughts. She hoped that she was in his good books for a long time.


End file.
